Governor Dauda Lawal of Zamfara State has led a delegation of state officials to participate in the Better Education Service Delivery for All, BESDA retreat in Kigali, Rwanda.
The 4-day retreat, which commenced on Monday, is aimed at revamping the educational sector of Zamfara State.
According to a statement by the governor’s spokesperson, Sulaiman Idris, BESDA is a World Bank initiative that aims to improve literacy rate and provide equal access to education for out-of-school children in Nigeria.
The statement added that the BESDA programme also seeks to improve basic education and tackle the menace of out-of-school children in Nigeria.
The statement reads,”The United Nations organised a four-day retreat as part of its Better Education Service Delivery for All (BESDA) programme. The programme aims to reduce the number of out-of-school children in Nigeria, which is currently the highest in the world according to UNESCO.
“In an interaction with the Rwandan Ministry of Education, the Zamfara State delegation held vital engagements on policies, strategies, programmes, mechanisms, and initiatives for addressing nder-based v violence in schools [lessons learned, achievement, challenges, and way forward].
“Other vital areas discussed are policies, strategies, and programmes to address early pregnancy cases in schools and support provided to identified cases.
“The Zamfara delegation also had a brainstorming session with the Rwandan Basic Education Board, where ideas were exchanged, especially on the overview of the work of the board and possible ways to improve Zamfara State Universal Basic Education.”
He said the governor’s delegation also visited selected public schools [outside Kigali] with smart classroom settings, which will be adopted and implemented in the state public schools.
“During a visit to the African Leadership University, Governor Lawal secured scholarships for Zamfara indigenes displaced by banditry in the State,” Mr Idris said.
He noted that the retreat was in line with the recent declaration of state of emergency on education by the current administration.
Members of the governor’s delegation include the secretary to the state government, commissioner for Education, Science, and Technology, and executive chairman of the Zamfara State UBE, among others.
