Kaduna Harnesses ICT to Promote Remote Learning Options for out of school Adolescent Girls
By: Edirin Robinson
To curb the issue of out-of-school, the Kaduna State Government said it has decided to explore the potential of ICT to provide accessible and flexible educational opportunities for out-of-school married adolescent girls in remote areas.
The State Commissioner of Education, Prof. Sani Bello Muhammed disclosed this at a public dialogue organized by the Basileia Vulnerable Persons Right Initiative (BVPRI) and Helen Memorial Foundation (HMF) for the AIRLOMA project with support from Rise Up for the assessment of the second chance policy, in Kaduna, today.
Prof. Muhammad who was represented by the Director of Planning and Development in the Ministry, Salisu Lawal Baba said the issue of Out-of-School Children continues to be one of the critical challenges faced in the Education Sector in Kaduna State.
He stressed that school-age children like the Almajiris, itinerant Quranic religious students, children of nomadic pastoralists, married adolescent girls, and other vulnerable children who dropped out of school are deprived of access to Universal Basic Education (UBE.)
The Commissioner explained that “The number of these Out-of-School Children continues to be a source of concern in Kaduna State; the high rate of Out-of-Schooll Children in the State has enormous economic and social consequences, which increases poverty of individuals, communities,s, and nation at large, it also increases rate crimes and lower standard of living.”
He reiterated that Kaduna State and its partners remain committed to reducing the number of out-of-school children in the State as it has also adopted the National Framework of Action to Reduce the Number out-of-Schooll Children in Kaduna State
The Professor revealed that the State has accessed loans and grants from the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) and Global Partnership for Education (GPE) to implement the Reaching Out of School Children Project.

“One of the strategies identified in the framework is to strengthen Best Practices and Identify Alternative Pathways to Improve Quality and Relevance of Learning for Out-of-School Children. The framework recommends the use of ICT in education to reflect new ideologies and trends.”
“Therefore, this dialogue organized by the Basileia Vulnerable Persons Right Initiative and Helen Memorial Foundation (HMF) is apt and commendable. I wish to express my deep appreciation for advocating the use of ICT to increase access to dropout adolescent married girls.”
“The dialogue creates a platform for discussing the importance and impacts of providing a Second Chance for education to out-of-school married adolescent girls. This a vital step in ensuring that no one is left behind in our educational pursuit.”
“Secondly, we need to identify the gaps in the policy and propose sustainable solutions and work collaboratively towards formulating sustainable solutions that can effectively address these issues”
“Thirdly, we need to provide opportunities for dropouts to be re-enrolled into school, especially girls; our goal is to create pathways for those who have dropped out to return to school, with a particular focus on girls who have had to leave due to marriage or other socio-economic factors.”
“It is worthy to mention that the State has adopted Digital Learning at all levels in 2022. ICT offers transformative potential for remote learning. Therefore, we need to leverage ICT, explore and harness this potential to provide accessible and flexible educational opportunities for out-of-school married adolescent girls.”
In her remarks, the founder and Executive Director of the Basileia Vulnerable Persons Rights Initiative, Jennifer Agbaji said that the rate of out-of-school children in the state is alarming, and it affects the development of the state leading to a high illiteracy rate.
She therefore harped on the implementation of the second chance policy by gaining the commitment of participants to support the Advocacy ICT Remote Learning for Out of School Married Adolescents (AIRLOMA) Project.
One of the adolescent married girls, Divine Yusuf appreciated BVPRI and the HMF for the AIRLOMA project with support from Rise Up for giving her a second chance to return to school.
She however called for more digital learning and more support from the State Government to sponsor remote learning instead of contemporary schools.