Niger ministry for basic and secondary education in partnership with UNICEF, has trained 500 teachers to enhance access to learning for underserved and disadvantaged children in the state.

The three-day training was for teachers from Munya, Shiroro and Suleja local government areas on Nigerians Learning Passport (NLP) platform.

Bala Dada, education officer, UNICEF Kaduna Field Office, disclosed plans to register, enrol and provide courses for 50,000 children on the NLP platform.

He added that the training of the teachers was to equip them with knowledge and skills to utilise the NLP platform for learning and learner enrolment.

Mr Dada noted that investing in teacher’s capacity would sustain educational access in hard-to-reach and insecure areas.

“Trained teachers will leverage blended approaches to extend learning to displaced and vulnerable learners,” he said.

He said the initiative would improve access to education for disadvantage children, promote learning continuity in crisis-prone areas.

Also speaking, Farouk Mashegue, UNICEF focal person in Niger ministry of education,, said the training was to enhance teacher capacity to address challenges of access to education, retention and quality learning.

Mr Mashegue said the teachers were trained to deliver blended learning via NLP platform and enrolment process, digital literacy skills in basic ICT, mobile apps and data entry.

He said they were also trained on psychosocial support and inclusive teaching in crisis-prone communities, record management and monitoring systems in addition to strategic assignment of teachers to local government areas. 

(NAN).