By Aisha Mohammed
Increase in crime rates, social instability, and reduced human capital are major challenges posed by the menace of out-of-school children globally.
In the BAY states of Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe, the problem of out-of-school children caused by conflict and insurgency has hindered economic development and reduced the overall potential for growth and prosperity in the region.
In a strategic effort to address this challenge, the Adamawa State Government, in partnership with the United Nations Children’s Fund UNICEF, established over 60 learning centers sponsored by the Global Partnership for Education GPE.
The GPE program enrolled over 2,500 out-of-school children, including almajiri, with a minimum of 45 children per class, ensuring the inclusion of the girl child across the three pilot Local Government Areas of Gombi, Lamurde, and Madagali through the Accelerated Basic Education Program.
Some students at the centers in Lamurde Local Government Area of Adamawa State, including Sadiqu Gaddafi, Maryam Umar, and Hafsat Mohammed, expressed their excitement to Radio Nigeria Fombina News over their ability to read and write, describing it as a second chance given to them.
Explaining the overview of the Global Partnership for Education–Accelerated Funding GPE–AF project, UNICEF Bauchi Field Office Education Specialist, Abdulrahman Ado, said the initiative was implemented in three North-Eastern states Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe in an effort to improve the education sector.
As the GPE–AF project, which commenced in July 2024, winds down in Adamawa State on September 30, 2025, Ado noted that there would be no extension, urging the State Government to ensure sustainability of the program’s gains in the education sector for all children.
Expressing gratitude to the Global Partnership for Education, the Commissioner for Education and Human Capital Development, Garba Pella, represented by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Aisha Muhammad, said the program has created a second chance opportunity for out-of-school children to acquire education through both formal and non-formal arrangements.
Pella affirmed that education is the bedrock of all development and pledged to ensure that the gains of the GPE–AF program are sustained in all the 123 learning centers established across the three pilot Local Government Areas of Gombi, Lamurde, and Madagali.
The State Government through the GPE–AF program, initially targeted 7,200 out-of-school children between the ages of five and fourteen years, but eventually recorded 12,000 learners accessing the Accelerated Basic Education Program in the three pilot councils.
The project also aimed to provide access to safe and inclusive education, ensure continuity of learning during crises, promote skills development, support recovery in the medium term, and strengthen resilience of the education system.
It is believed that if the Sangaya and Early Childhood Education components of the project are embraced and owned by stakeholders at all levels, the gains of the program will be sustained.
Meanwhile, the project also distributed menstrual hygiene kits to 2,250 adolescent girls across the three benefiting council Lamurde, Gombi, and Madagali simultaneously.
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