UNESCO will on Tuesday launch the second phase of its project to empower illiterate girls and women in low Performing Junior Secondary Schools through Information Communication Technology in Bauchi State, an official has said.

The project is targeted at 50,000 girls and women, Mr Olushola Macaulay, the National Officer, Communication and Information, UNESCO, said in a statement in Abuja on Saturday.

The first phase of the project, ‘Revitalising Adult and Youth Literacy in Nigeria’ supported by the Federal Government, addressed the challenges of illiteracy.

In the previous project, 60,000 illiterate women, girls in low Performing Junior Secondary Schools were trained in life skills and use of ICT in the Federal Capital Territory and Rivers in 2016, Macaulay said.

According to him, the second phase of the project is funded by Procter and Gamble, an American-based consumer product company, and targets schools in Bauchi State.

He said that the strategy to be deployed in the current project would be “School Meets the Learner Approach.”

“This is to empower additional 50,000 illiterate women and girls in low-performing Junior Secondary Schools.

“The objective of the second phase of the project is to bring schools to the doorsteps of the learners using technology, where learners have difficulties in accessing education in a formal setting.

“The launch of the project, School Meets the Learner Approach, marks the beginning of the UNESCO new initiative to Education.

“This is where ICT devices, such as television, tablets, and mobile phones are deployed to learners in their homes, workplaces to facilitate teaching and learning,” Macaulay said.

He said over the years, various government institutions had instituted policies, established structures and supported interventions aimed at addressing the high level of illiteracy in the country.

According to him, statistics by the Federal Ministry of Education indicates that only 500,000 out of 40 million adult illiterates are enrolled in adult learning classes.

He said there were also 3.5 million school age children roaming the streets with only 450,000 accessing any form of schooling. (NAN)

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