The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has announced its successful empowerment of over 1.8 million Nigerian children with essential learning materials over the past four years.
In light of this achievement, UNICEF is urging the Nigerian government to amplify its foundational literacy initiatives.
Mrs. Yetunde Oluwatosin, the Education Specialist at UNICEF Nigeria, shared this milestone during a conversation with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.
She highlighted the agency’s Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN) program, which is designed to enhance early childhood education in Nigeria.
The FLN program is an innovative learning solution for both classrooms and home-based teaching, focusing on introducing and supporting states in implementing age-appropriate teaching approaches to establish a strong educational foundation for Nigerian children.
This initiative includes curriculum-aligned, high-quality, and inclusive teaching and learning materials.
Oluwatosin explained, “The idea is to ensure that the children achieve or attain the desired level in their grade with the teaching and learning materials. As the child progresses into primary school, using their mother tongue as an approach, they are able to learn and achieve literacy and numeracy growth as they should.”
Between 2018 and 2022, UNICEF reached out to over 1.8 million children with learning materials, and they aim to empower another 4.8 million children by 2027.
This initiative was launched in response to the observation that some children were progressing through the education system but not reaching their expected grade levels, necessitating a remedial approach to get them back on track.
Oluwatosin emphasized that evidence from similar programs in other countries, such as India, where the context is comparable to Nigeria, has yielded positive results.
She urged the Nigerian government to strengthen its collaboration with UNICEF by allocating more funds to the education sector, particularly at the foundational and early education levels.
In the digital age, Oluwatosin stressed the importance of scaling up these teaching approaches across states to ensure that Nigerian children receive a quality education that prepares them for the 21st century.
She also emphasized the need for continuous teacher empowerment and development to enhance their skills.
Oluwatosin highlighted the critical role of teachers and the importance of building their capacity, both before entering the profession and throughout their careers.
She called for effective mentoring and coaching approaches and encouraged collaborations between parents and teachers to ensure that children’s education needs are met.
She acknowledged the efforts of the government and development partners while emphasizing the need for continued collaboration and expansion of successful educational models.