Kogi seeks UNICEF’s support on basic education

The Kogi Government on Tuesday solicited more support from UNICEF towards providing quality education in the state.

The state Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Mrs Rosemary Osikoya, made the call when the Chief of Field Office, UNICEF, Dr Ibrahim Conte visited her on Tuesday in Lokoja.

Osikoya said the state government needed more support from the fund, especially for the basic education in the state.

She said the visit had opened an avenue for the Kogi government to collaborate with UNICEF toward the development of the state education sector.

According to the commissioner, some parts of the state have educational advantage over the other.

She said the realities in the urban areas should not be used as yardstick by UNICEF to generalise the status of education in the state.

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Osikoya commended the UNICEF for selecting Kogi as one of the five new states including Nassarawa, Imo, Edo and Ekiti, to receive it education support.

She also thanked the UNICEF for providing “instruments’’ for the conduct of 2019 Annual School Census (ASC), as well as support for the education sector in the 2019 planning process.

Earlier, Conte said the visit was to seek areas of collaboration with the state government for the development of education sector.

He said UNICEF would ensure that no state was left behind in Nigeria’s bid to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Conte said UNICEF technical support to the state would help in developing educational goals and budget preparation, among others.