OOSC: UNICEF, Katsina SUBEB Inaugurate Community Transition Monitors in Six LGAs

Francis Sardauna in Katsina 

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has commenced the inauguration of community school transition monitors’ committees in six local government areas (LGAs) of Katsina State to tackle the spate of out-of-school children (OOSC) in the state.

The transition monitors’ committees are to be inaugurated in the six UNICEF’s Reaching and Empowering Adolescent Girls in North-west-Nigeria (REACH) of Kafur, Kankara, Rimi, Katsina, Baure and Mani, in collaboration with the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB).

Speaking while inaugurating the Kafur committee Wednesday, UNICEF Consultant, Dr. Sale Mohammed, said the transition monitors’ committees were to identify the barriers hindering smooth transition from one level of education to another level and develop strategies to eradicate the impediments.

He explained that members of the committee would also conduct sensitization campaigns to create awareness on the need for continuous schooling for students, especially girls in the local government.

He said other terms of reference for the committee included constant monitoring and mentoring of the students within and outside the school, as well as timely headcount of students and proper record keeping of data on transition.

The UNICEF consultant said members of the committee would also develop an action plan for monitoring and mentoring of the pupils and students to ensure retention, transition and completion.

He, however, said transition from primary to junior secondary school remains a challenge to the development of education in Katsina, hence the need for a robust transition monitoring system to track pupils and students’ progress in school.

He said UNICEF would train the community transition monitors on relevant educational methodologies to enable them acquaint themselves with requisite skills to implement their terms of reference in order to ensure retention, transition and completion.

While identifying poverty, cultural norms, early marriage and infrastructural deficit as some of the factors abetting out-of-school children, Mohammed said UNICEF and the Katsina State government were committed to eradicating the menace in the state.

He said: “To address these challenges, it requires establishing a robust system for monitoring educational transitions because transition monitors at the community, LGA and state levels can play a vital role in tracking student progress in schools. 

“It is important to identify these barriers, develop and implement strategies to ensure that students, especially girls, successfully move from primary to secondary education and beyond.

“In view of the above therefore, SUBEB Katsina in collaboration with UNICEF Kano Field Office supported the establishment of transition monitors at the state, LGA and community levels in the six REACH project LGAs of Rimi, Mani, Katsina, Baure, Kankara and Kafur.”

Mohammed reiterated that the community transition monitors were inaugurated simultaneously in Kafur, Kankara and Baure Wednesday, while that of Rimi, Mani and Katsina Local Governments will be unveiled immediately after the Eid-El-Kabir holiday.

Speaking shortly after the inauguration, a member of the committee, Umar Khalid, described the UNICEF initiative as a milestone development that will improve the educational landscape of the state.