ENUGU: UNICEF REITERATES COMMITTMENT TO CHILD EDUCATION

REPORTER: EMEFIENA OKONKWO

The Chief of Enugu Field Office, United Nations Children’s Fund, UNICEF, Mrs. Juliet Chiluwe says that the world body is committed to child development with particular reference to child education.

Mrs. Chiluwe stated this in a message, as part of activities to celebrate the 2025 International Day for Education.

She stressed the need for strengthened collaboration between UNICEF and governments in the country to bridge the gap occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic, conflicts and climate change related problems, including drought and flood, to ensure that no child is left out.

According to Mrs. Chiluwe, a new UNICEF analysis on climate and education reveals that in 2024, almost 12.5 million children were affected by climate related school disruptions in at least seven countries in Africa.

The Chief of Field Office, UNICEF Enugu explained that the countries most affected were Cameroun, Nigeria, Chad, Democratic Republic of Congo, Mali, Niger and Senegal.

According to the UNICEF boss, in some of these countries, 100% of registered pupils and students had their education disrupted by flood.

In his submission, the Enugu State Commissioner for Education, Professor Ndubueze Mbah, noted that the strong collaboration between the state government and UNICEF over the years, has yielded fruitful results in the education sector.

He said the present administration in the state, under Governor Mbah, is deeply committed towards changing the narrative in the education sector hence, the huge investment in the area.

The Commissioner revealed that the Governor Peter Mbah led administration had started deploying Artificial intelligence (AI) and other modern technology to transform learning in schools.

Interacting with journalists in Enugu, Professor Mba said that the technical support to the state by UNICEF, had enhanced teaching and learning in schools.

He noted that such intervention, including capacity building for teachers, had exposed them to modern teaching techniques.

The commissioner equally revealed that UNICEF had assisted the state in putting in place an effective education information management system.

On what the state government and UNICEF are doing with regards to AI and technology, Prof. Mba said: “what we are doing in Enugu State regarding AI, touches on three areas.

“Firstly, education governance, secondly, curriculum development and thirdly, pedagogy” adding that the Enugu State education management system is used for the day-to-day running of the schools.

“In each of our green smart schools, we use AI to take attendance record, both of students and teachers every day. It’s also used for our facility management”.

The Commissioner stressed that through the the use technology and AI, his ministry now gets all needed school  data, among other benefits.

The  theme for the 2025 International Day for Education is: “AI and education: Preserving human agency in a world of automation.”

EDITED BY CHUKWUBUIKE MADU

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