By Bashir Bello, KANO

The United Nation Children Fund, UNICEF, has on Friday, raised concern over the emerging impact of climate hange on education, saying over 200,000 Nigerian children had their learning disrupted by flooding alone in Nigeria.

Read Also: Kano govt, Police face off over blockade of religious gathering venue

The Chief of UNICEF Kano Field Office, Rahama Farah, stated this during a press conference to commemorate the International Day of Education in Kano.

Farah said the figure was based on a recent report released by UNICEF which covers 85 countries, including Nigeria.

Farah said in Jigawa State alone, 92,518 children have been affected, with 115 school buildings and facilities damaged or destroyed, leading to prolonged school closures and a lack of educational resources.

According to him, “Today, UNICEF released a report of a study on the disruptive impact of Climate Change on learning in 85 countries, including Nigeria. That report indicates that over 200,000 Nigerian children had their learning disrupted by flooding alone in Nigeria.

“In Jigawa state, last year flooding has damaged or destroyed 115 school buildings and facilities, making them unsafe or unusable.

“This has led to prolonged school closures and a lack of educational resources for about 92,518 (F:43,813; M48,705) children of school age across the 27 LGAs in the state.

“With the Support of partners, including the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office of the UK, UNICEF is supporting the states of Kano and Jigawa to provide climate resilient learning environment to mitigate the impact of climate change on learning.

“In the last one year, UNICEF has engaged 1,000 youths (350 in Jigawa, 650 in Katsina) on acting on the Climate Change, resulting in the planting of 200 trees in Jigawa and 100 trees in Katsina state respectively.

“On the 2025 International Day of Education, this media briefing is organized to leverage this advocacy moment of of the IDE to highlight the significance of education and its role in fostering a well-informed, inclusive, and peaceful society.

“As you may be aware, the theme for the 2025 International Day of Education is, AI and Education: Preserving Human Agency in a World of Automation,

“However, our conversation today is not focused entirely on the 2025 theme; we will  talk about the state of basic education in the states supported by the UNICEF Kano Field Office, namely, Kano, Jigawa and Katsina, including the emerging, disruptive impact of Climate Change on learning,” he said.

The UNICEF Chief who commended the Kano, Jigawa and Katsina State governments for increase in budgetary allocations on education, however appealed for timely release the funds.