The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) has chosen Hope-Jon International School, Karu, Nasarawa State, as the first institution for its Sustainable Development Goal (SDG)-4 campaign in Nigeria.
Mrs Caroline Oseghale, Director Professional Education, UNESCO Centre for Global Education (UNESCOCFORGE), UK, disclosed this at the inauguration of the campaign in the school on Monday.
The theme of the campaign is “Education Solution, Education First Initiative-Embracing SDG-4.’’
It is a project of UNESCOCFORGE and Pan-African Youth Parliament (IPAYP).
“UNESCOCFORGE is independent; it is self-funded; this school was not chosen from here but from our head office in New York.
“ UNESCO chose the school because learning is combined with socio-cultural activities.
“We chose the school to kick off the campaign; we are creating awareness; this is the first school we are having this in Nigeria.
“We are going to do a lot of advocacy to make sure other schools follow, ‘’ she said.
She listed the factors that hinder the growth of education in the country as; lack of facilities, lack of infrastructure, and lack of well trained teachers.
Others, she said, were; lack of good laboratories and lack of Information Communication Technology (ICT) equipment.
Speaking, Mr Obinna Sixtus, Campaign Director, Education Solution, said SDG placed high premium on quality and free education for boys and girls.
Sixtus said that for sustainable education to be achieved, culture must be an integral part of learning.
“We suggest that culture should be in our education curriculum; it is culture that will bind us together not politics.
He also commended the school for its ICT equipment, adding that ICT offered a great hope for improving access to quality education.
On his part, the Proprietor of the school, Retired Maj.-Gen John Nwaoga, said he felt excited that his efforts had been acknowledged as being modest.
“We have a state-of-the-art ICT laboratory, a multi-purpose laboratory, a library, conducive learning environment and classrooms.
“The exercise areas are good—all these attracted a lot of people and parents into bringing their children to the school.
“The school is very affordable; in fact, it is one of the benchmark that UNESCO visitors looked at.
“When they came, they asked for our school fees, they compared it what other schools gave to them and they found out that with what we have put on ground, it is quite affordable and accessible to both low and high,’’ Nwaoga said.
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