According to the news gathered from Voice of Nigeria, the Kwara State Government has reestablished its partnership with the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) through the implementation of the Nigeria Learning Passport (NLP) in the state. This marks the renewal of a collaboration that had ended 13 years ago.

The NLP is an online educational platform designed to provide continuous access to quality education for learners across Nigeria, especially for out-of-school children, those in need of additional support, and students in areas with limited access to technology or school facilities.

Speaking at the launch of the project in Ilorin, UNICEF Kaduna Field Office Chief, Gerida Birukila, emphasized that the launch signified the renewal of UNICEF's partnership with Kwara State. The launch makes Kwara the 20th state to implement the NLP.

“With the support of Microsoft, GPE, Airtel, HIS towers and TECHNO, this partnership will build the capacity of 3,000 teachers on digital literacy skills to deliver quality basic education to 120,000 children in Kwara State within one year by providing greater access to reduce the number of out of school children (OOSC) and increase literacy and numeracy,” she said.

According to her, “The Learning Passport was created globally by UNICEF and Microsoft at a time when education experienced unprecedented disruption due to COVID-19.

“At the height of the pandemic, 1.6 billion learners were locked out of the education system.

“Since 2022, the project has enrolled 1,478,984 students.

“Learning passports are available for free on online, mobile, and offline devices. We are working with Airtel and IS to bridge the data and connectivity gaps. If you have an Airtel sim card, the NLP can be used without data costs.”

UNICEF commended Kwara State on its commitment to education, especially, with investment in the education sector across all levels.

“UNICEF is happy to note that The Kwara Education Transformation Agenda (KWETA) has put digital education at the fore of her education programmes with interventions like the StudyLab, KwaraLearn and Digital Learning centres.

“You have continued to play an exemplary role in ensuring that children have access to quality education, even in the face of major challenges,” she added.

Also speaking, Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq of Kwara state who was represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Prof Mamman Jibril assured that his administration will continue to subscribe to policies and programmes that will facilitate accelerated educational development in the state.

The Governor disclosed that after decisively dealing with the inherited challenges of non-payment of salaries and the abysmal state of the learning environment, the focus of the government has been to improve the quality of teaching and learning outcomes through a unified curriculum, motivated human resources, and technological tools.

“Along with massive investments in the establishment of digital literacy centres across the state in collaboration with the UBEC, I am happy to say that our strategy has drastically improved literacy and numeracy levels,” he added.

UNICEF is a global organization that works to improve the lives of children and their families, with a focus on emergency response, education, healthcare, and child protection.

It was established in 1946 by the United Nations General Assembly to provide aid to children in countries devastated by World War II.

Today, UNICEF works in over 190 countries and territories to reach the most vulnerable children and adolescents.