The Nigerian Federal Capital Territory Administration, FCTA, says it is connecting skills development with formal and non-formal education in its mass literacy initiative through its Education Secretariat.
Malam Abdulrazaq Leramoh, Acting Secretary of the Secretariat, revealed this at a news conference to commemorate the 2023 International Literacy Day (ILD).
The day’s theme is “Promoting Literacy for a World in Transition: Building the Foundation for Sustainable and Peaceful Societies.”
Mr Leramoh pointed out that certificates alone cannot provide food on the table, particularly with growing unemployment in the country.
He also noted the growing number of graduates out there without formal skills, making it difficult to address unemployment.
He added that the FCT has a very robust platform for both formal and non-formal education, including literacy and skills acquisition centres across the six Area Councils.
He explained that the ILD was being commemorated on September 9 of every year to create awareness of the significance of education for all.
He added that the celebration was also to strengthen existing structures to promote education to solve societal needs as well as produce a skilled workforce for a sustainable economy.
He said that a literate person was expected to attain reading, writing, and numeric abilities to make it possible for him to continue to remain functional.
This, he said, would enable a person to contribute significantly towards his development and that of his country.
The Director of the Secondary Education Board, Sani Ladan, said that the secretariat was working to ensure that no child leaves the school without a skill through entrepreneurship education.
Also, the Director of the Department of Mass Education, Mrs Hajarat Titilayo-Alayande, said that the FCT adult education programme currently has an enrolment of more than 15,000 people.
Titilayo-Alayande added that the department has four functional Information and Communication Technology centres and 34 women centres.
She added that the department’s second chance education programme for out-of-school children, particularly girls, was being funded by a Non-Governmental Association for Literacy Support Services (NOGALSS).
She said that a total of 1,000 girls would be trained under the programme in FCT, adding that 50 of the girls would be trained in vocational skills.
The director also stated that the department offers free skill acquisition training, and that 1,400 people are trained on various skills each quarter.
Mr Noah Emmanuel, National President of NOGALSS, stated that the organization was collaborating with all state agencies for mass education in the country to provide livelihood skills.
He urged the FCTA to restore the Department of Mass Education’s formal status as an agency in order to improve its autonomy.
“This will enable it to respond better to the dynamics of literacy,” he explained.
