300,000 Children Benefit from DFID Education Intervention

Bayo Akinloye

The Developing Effective Private Education Nigeria (DEEPEN), a programme funded by the Department for International Development (DFID ), held a series of events to address the challenge of improving quality education in Nigeria, with more than 277,000 children from across 2,500 schools

It was the second in a series of dissemination events that brought together senior government officials and other stakeholders in education, including commissioners, permanent secretaries, and directors, in the South-West.

Speaking at the event held recently at the Radisson Inn in Abeokuta, the team leader of the DEEPEN programme, Dr Gboyega Ilusanya, emphasized on the need to address the challenge of improving the quality of education.

“Given the rising importance of private education, the learnings of DEEPEN will help to set the agenda and structure for the intervention of states and development partners in education.”

According to him, the DEEPEN programme has recorded numerous successes in its attempt to establish a “vibrant and dynamic market for private education” in Lagos.

More than 277,000 children from across 2,500 schools have directly benefitted from DEEPEN’s interventions.

“We believe this is a good opportunity for stakeholders to learn and better understand how to effectively manage the phenomenon of private education, particularly in schools serving children from low-income households,” he added.

By conclusion of the project in August 2018, DEEPEN aims to have helped establish a vibrant and dynamic market for private education.

DEEPEN is managed by Cambridge Education, a member of Mott MacDonald UK. The programme was established to improve the quality of education in private schools, especially those serving children from low-income households in Lagos.

Using a market-development approach, the DEEPEN programme continues the progress from the Education Sector Support Programme in Nigeria (ESSPIN), with a particular focus on improving learning outcomes of children from low-income families.