THE Federal Government has set aside $6.43million trust fund aimed at revitalizing the adult and youth literacy project in the country.
Executive Secretary of National Commission for Mass Education, Alhaji Jibrin Paiko, disclosed this in Benin, Edo State, yesterday, during the training of trainers of literacy facilitators in the state.
He said that the objective of the programme was to strengthen national capacity for the delivery of quality literacy programme to the estimated 40 million illiterates in the country with a view to achieving the education for all and education related MDGs by the year 2015.
On the training of the facilitators, the Executive Secretary said that the objective was to improve skills and knowledge of no fewer than 4,107 facilitators across the country with an average of 111 facilitators per state.
He listed the specific objectives of the training to include enablement of grassroots field workers in adult basic education, improve the quality of programme delivery, update facilitators’ knowledge on current and most innovative ways of discharging their duties and equip the facilitators with skills and knowledge that will enable them function effectively in contemporary society.
“Nigeria, like other sub-Saharan African countries, is facing huge challenges of higher number of illiterates which comprises mostly of out-of-school children, youth and adults, who have never attended school. A huge percentage of these are girls and young women.
“Hence, the on-going revitalization adult and youth literacy project focuses on the promotion of access, equity, quality and innovations in non-formal education through the integration of functional, vocational and entrepreneurial skills into basic education,” he said.
