Kaduna State Government’s ROOSC Project Addresses the Out-of-School Children Crisis
By: Femi Oyelola
The Kaduna State Government has launched the Reaching Out-of-School Children (ROOSC) Project to tackle the critical issue of out-of-school children in the state.
With an estimated 768,739 children not attending school, the project aims to increase enrollment, participation, and completion rates by providing inclusive and equitable access to quality education.
During the Technical Working Group quarterly meeting held in Kaduna today, the Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist for the ROOSC project, Madam Ruth Leo, highlighted the project’s objectives, which include:Increasing access to quality primary education for out-of-school children, Improving teaching and learning effectiveness in targeted schools, Ensuring conducive learning environments for all children and Strengthening system efficiency for enhanced performance and value-for-money in primary education management.
Madam Leo reported that 10,728 children have enrolled, with 41,545 mapped learners across nine Local Government Areas (LGAs).
Design work for Stage-1 Batch-1 has been completed, and joint verification exercises have been conducted for 45 Tsangaya schools.
Furthermore, she noted that 397 teachers have been trained, including 76 Head Teachers and 119 Government Social Workers who received training in psychosocial support and monitoring.
Additionally, 4,381 School Heads have been trained in the integrated Education Management Information System (EMIS), and 511 education officers have been trained in budget analysis and tracking.
The Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist, presenting the implementation report on behalf of the State Project Coordinator of ROOSC, Mr. Ezra Angai, also listed some challenges faced by the project.
To enhance project visibility, a state media working committee has been established, comprising members from Save the Children International (SCI) and UNICEF.
Madam Leo further explained that the Project Management Unit (PMU) will continue to engage security experts for periodic updates and assessments, collaborating closely with design and supervision consultants to expedite the process.
“The project is a strategic collaboration with support from the Islamic Solidarity Fund for Development (ISFD), and Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAED) providing financial support for construction of new schools and renovations of existing ones including learning centers, Global Partnerships for Education (GPE) and Education Above All (EAA) are providing funding to boost learning outcomes including enrollment, training/capacity building and distribution of teaching and learning materials, with Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) coordinating the partnership.
Implementation relating to learning outcome is being driven by Save the Children International (SCI), which brings technical expertise and community mobilization, while UNICEF is strengthening education systems through capacity-building initiatives.”
In his remarks, Mr. Ezra Angai, the State Project Coordinator of ROOSC, praised the members of the Technical Working Group for their unwavering efforts to address the issue of out-of-school children in Kaduna State
. He called for increased collaboration among all TWG members to achieve the project’s objectives and expressed gratitude to Kaduna State Governor Senator Uba Sani CON for creating a conducive environment for the project to succeed.
