OOSC: Kano Equips Teachers For Smooth Implementation Of ABEP
KANO (North-West, Nigeria) — The Kano State Government has commenced training of teachers to equip them with the skills required for the effective implementation of the Accelerated Basic Education Programme (ABEP), a second-chance initiative aimed at reducing the number of out-of-school children (OOSC) in the state.
The training, held at the GSS Dangana Cluster in Nasarawa Local Government Area, focused on strengthening the capacity of facilitators to effectively teach children and adolescents who had either never attended formal school or dropped out at an early stage.
The step-down training was organised by the Kano State Qur’anic and Islamiyya Schools Management Board (QISMB), in collaboration with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
Speaking during the exercise, facilitators, Zahra’u Shuaibu and Abubakar Ibrahim, said the ABEP curriculum had been structured with scripted lesson plans to simplify teaching and learning and help facilitators respond to the peculiar needs of beneficiaries.
They said the approach would enable teachers to manage challenges that could arise in the classroom, particularly when dealing with learners with little or no previous experience of formal education.
According to them, the training would help facilitators understand the different learning needs of the beneficiaries and adopt appropriate teaching methods to improve their comprehension and participation.
The facilitators explained that ABEP was structured into three levels, with Level One covering Primary One to Three, Level Two covering Primary Four to Six, while Level Three covers Junior Secondary School (JSS) One to Three.
They said the structure was designed to enable children aged 10 to 18 who had missed formal education to acquire primary and junior secondary education within three years.
Also speaking, the representative of the Kano State Agency for Mass Education (SAME) in Nasarawa Local Government Area, Mudassir Abubakar, said the training was aimed at preparing facilitators to effectively guide children being re-enrolled under the programme.
He said the facilitators would play a critical role in helping learners bridge the educational gaps created by dropping out of school.
Abubakar added that both the teachers and beneficiaries had demonstrated commitment and cooperation towards the successful implementation of the programme.
The ABEP Master Trainer in Nasarawa Local Government Area, Abdullahi Hussaini, said the step-down training was designed to prepare facilitators to provide effective second-chance education to learners aged between 10 and 18 years.
He said 22 participants were taking part in the training at the centre.
Hussaini added that ABEP, supported by UNICEF in collaboration with the European Union under the Global Partnership for Education (GPE), was providing second-chance education opportunities for out-of-school children across the North-East.
He said strengthening the capacity of facilitators remained essential to ensuring that beneficiaries not only returned to learning but also acquired the foundational knowledge and skills needed to progress in their education.