By Ebunoluwa Sessou, Emmanuella Donatus & Isimioluwa Olofinsanmi
The Katsina State Government has launched the UK-funded Scaling Access and Learning in Education, SCALE, programme, aimed at helping more children develop basic reading and mathematics skills.

Speaking at the launch, the Katsina State Governor, Dikko Umar Radda disclosed that, the initiative is to bring together the state government, the UK Government and education partners including Education Development Trust, Teaching at the Right Level Africa and Innovations for Poverty Action. Adding that the initiative would focus on children in Integrated Qur’anic and Tsangaya Education, IQTE, schools, where many learners have limited access to structured teaching in reading and mathematics.

He stressed that getting children into school was only the first step, noting that the ultimate goal is to ensure that the children actually learn. “Access is only the beginning, but learning is the ultimate objective,” Radda said.

He explained that the state government wants to move beyond short-term educational projects by adopting approaches that produce measurable results and can be sustained within the state’s education system.

His words: “The programme will use the Teaching at the Right Level, TaRL, approach, which groups pupils according to their actual learning abilities rather than simply their age or class. This allows teachers to provide lessons based on what each child already knows and help them progress gradually.

“For children who have had their education disrupted by insecurity and displacement, the programme also supports improvements to the Accelerated Basic Education Programme, ABEP, curriculum. The programme is designed to provide flexible learning opportunities for over-aged out-of-school children between 10 and 18 years”, he stated.

Meanwhile, the Commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education, Suleiman Jibia, described the launch as an important step towards expanding learning opportunities for IQTE and other learners across Katsina State.

He said the state looked forward to building on the results of the pilot phase and achieving a wider and more sustainable implementation of SCALE.

Representing the British High Commission in Abuja, the Head of Development Cooperation, Cynthia Rowe, said the UK was proud to support Katsina in bringing evidence-based teaching methods to IQTE schools.

She said the programme would give children, regardless of the type of school they attend, a better opportunity to develop strong literacy and numeracy skills.

Also speaking, Senior Education Adviser at the British High Commission, Ian Attfield, said too many children in Northern Nigeria had been denied access to quality education.

He called for more flexible and evidence-based pathways to learning so that children affected by insecurity, displacement and other challenges would not be left behind.

“The SCALE programme is to build on earlier results from Kaduna State, where the Teaching at the Right Level approach was introduced in IQTE schools.

“With insecurity and displacement continuing to affect communities in Katsina and Zamfara, the programme is expected to provide an alternative pathway for children whose education has been interrupted.

“The initiative therefore represents a joint effort to make education more inclusive and ensure that children are not only given access to school but are also given the opportunity to learn, read, count and build a better future”, he added.