UNICEF advocates Support to close Funding Gap in Kaduna Education Sector
By Uangbaoje Alex, Kaduna
Dr. Gerida Birukila, Chief of Field Office, UNICEF Kaduna, has called on all stakeholders to support government in closing the funding gap in the education sector in Kaduna State.
Dr. Gerida, who made the call recently as part of her message to commemorate the International Day of Education, noted there’s the need to expand education access; particularly for girls and children in emergencies. The theme for this year is “Artificial Intelligence and education: Preserving human agency in a world of automation”
The Chief, noted that though the Kaduna State government is doing a lot in this regard, organizations, and communities must work together to ensure no child is out of school.
She said the State government needs to sustain and strengthen her financial commitment of allocating 15–25% of state budgets to education.l, which she recently accomplished.
Dr. Gerida, added that the state must leverage technology and innovation to ensure that education is accessible to all, even in the most remote and underserved areas.
“Adolescents must be engaged as key stakeholders in education policies, programs, and innovations. Their voices are essential in shaping the future of learning.
“Urgent action is needed to strengthen education system resilience and integrate climate considerations to ensure no child is left behind.” She stated.
“We must undertake this work in a context where external stressors pose additional challenges. This is why UNICEF has chosen “climate and education” as the theme for this year’s International Education Day
“A new UNICEF analysis on climate and education just released today reveals that in 2024, almost 12.5 million children were affected by climate-related school disruptions in at least 7 countries of our region (Cameroon, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal).
“In Nigeria, Floods, Heat waves and Water scarcity have been the major Climate Change drivers of Child Climate Risk to vulnerability scare of 8.5 leading to up to 15% of Nigerian Children missing classes.
“In some cases 100% of registered students had their education disrupted by the floods.
“UNICEF has been instrumental in driving this agenda, leading key initiatives such as the thought Leadership seminars including supporting Climate responsive sector plans, developing a framework for Environmental and climate literacy education and curriculum standards and the National Minimum Safe School standards with guidelines of mitigating natural hazards.” She explained.
