By Balarabe Abdullahi Kiru
Present administration would collaborate with United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and Republic of Korea to improve technical and vocational education .
The State Commissioner of Education Alhaji Umar Haruna Doguwa gave the assurance during a stakeholders meeting with a team under UNESCO project popularly known as Better Education for Africa’s Rise( Bear lol)
Umar Doguwa said there is no better time to hold such stakeholders meeting on education than now as the present administration of Alhaji Abba Kabir Yusuf embarks on creating policies and programmes aimed at boosting the education standard statewide
” This is the best time when the Government of Alhaji Abba Kabir Yusuf embarks on developing new agenda that are meant to revitalize the entire system in Kano which suffered neglect for some years. One of this agendas is to give technical and vocational training to our teeming youth to become self reliance.
” Kano State Government is ready to work with this project under UNESCO and Republic of Korea to enhance technical and vocational training more especially among our students in primary and post primary schools ” he stated.
Doguwa however called on the project coordinator to look in to the possibility for making upward review of the share which is going to be given to Kano State under the project considering it’s population.
” I want to tell you that Kano State is a very big state that can stand for. another country in terms of population. We have about 5.3 million students in primary and post primary schools and this explained the need for Kano to be given the largest shares under this project ” Doguwa demanded.
He further explained that in Kano there are more than 20 institutes meant to provide empowerment skills on different programmes, stressing that government would welcome any intervention from the donor partners to make those institutes more productive.
Earlier, the Head of office UNESCO Abuja Mr. Abdourahamane Diallo said the stakeholders meeting was organized to give the general overview of Better Education for Africa’s Rise project which is going to be implemented in Kano.
Mr. Diallo explained that the scheme is a joint initiative between UNESCO and Republic of Korea to strengthen the technical and vocational education and training (TVET) systems of selected countries in Africa.
” The third phase of the work will be implemented in the beneficiary countries in West Africa beside Nigeria including Ivory Coast, Ghana, and Sierra leone from 2023-2024 building on the positive and sustainable outcomes of the BEAR II project.
” Better Education for Africa’s Rise project (BEAR III) aims at giving youngers in West Africa better chance of accessing decent employment by promoting sustainable improvement in technical and vocational education and training system of the beneficiaries ” he disclosed.
Presenting the project overview, the project regional coordinator Manish Joshi said it is designed to achieve three basic outcomes that include making the project more relevant to the need of the aforementioned countries, enhancing the quality of technical and vocational education and training delivered to trainees and improving perception of the project among youngers
Highlight of the stakeholders meeting include a visitation exercise to state farm land at Karfi in Kura Local Government Area and Dangote Utra-Model Skills Acquisition Centre.
