No fewer than 716 out-of-school children graduated from non-formal schools and mainstreamed into formal settings in Mashi Local Government Area of Katsina State.
The Programme Manager, Save the Children International (SCI), Mrs Atine Lewi, disclosed this at the mainstreaming exercise, and presentation of school uniforms on Saturday in Mashi.
The programme is supported by SCI, through the Education Cannot Wait First Emergency Response (ECW-FER) funded project.
According to her, the 716 children are among 8,000 enrolled by the SCI in non-formal schools to learn how to read and write English language, and also mathematics among other basic subjects.
“After five months, the children were assessed, where about 716 of them were able to understand how to read and write, therefore, they are now mainstreamed into about 11 formal schools.
“The remaining children will continue for another three months, after which they will be assessed again, those that are able to scale will also be mainstreamed into formal schools.
“But those that failed to scale from the alternative learning centres, SCI will liaise with the local government education authority to see how they can be supported to be self reliant,” Lewi said.
She urged parents and other community members to monitor and ensure that the children continue to go to school, so that their communities should not be left behind in terms of education.
Also, the Education Officer, SCI, Mr Sadiq Fema, said that about 112 teachers were recruited for the programme, “we are training them on literacy/numeracy boost, teacher in-crisis context, and teaching at the right level.”
According to him, the effort aimed to boost education in Mashi, considering the fact that those children are the future leaders, therefore they need to acquire the right knowledge at the right time.
He said that the children were provided with learning materials, hygiene kits, adding that children with special needs were also considered, where they were provided with supportive materials.
The District Head of Mashi, ho holds the traditional tittle of Iyan Katsina, Alhaji Kabiru Ibrahim, commended the effort and assured them all the necessary support towards the success of the programme in the area.
Mr Kabir Ali, the Education Secretary, Mashi LGA, applauded the SCI for their commitment towards reducing out-of-school children across various communities in Mashi.
According to him, the children enrolled in the centres will be given certificates, and enrolled in various primary schools to further their studies at a formal level.
He explained that the Mashi Council Chairman, Alhaji Salisu Kallah, promised to provide uniform and other learning materials for about 216, out of the 716 children.
The benefiting children who were mainstreamed into formal schools, comprised 400 females and 316 males.
Meanwhile, the Katsina State Government, through the State’s Bureau of Statistics, has engaged final-year students of tertiary institutions in the state on data analysis and carrier guidance skills training.
The state’s Statistician General, Prof. Saifullahi Sani-Matazu, disclosed this during the opening of a 2-day training for the first batch of 250 students of tertiary institutions in the state.
The training tagged: “Data Analysis and Empowerment Bootcamp 2025″, was organised in collaboration with Gwagware Foundation.
According to Sani-Matazu, the training is designed to build the capacity of the final-year students on data analysis, using hybrid methods.
He said: “You know, there are some emerging developments in the field of report writing, informatics, among others, where you need certain skills using hybrid softwares.
“So, we have seen so many things one cannot get at the university, especially from research methods, courses that students are passing through, which are mostly theoretical, but are lacking in most of the institutions.
“So, we organised this in order to bridge the practical gap, to equip our students and strengthen their capacity on how to handle sophisticated softwares that are very expensive to obtain.”
Sani-Matazu said that with the support of the state government, they have procured enterprise versions of those softwares for installation on an unlimited number of devices.
“We are leveraging that to ensure that we install these softwares free-of-charge to our students, as well as train them on how to make use of them for their projects and assignments.
“And at the same time, they can use it for other students and other partners, engaging in data collection, data analysis and report writing, so that they can earn money from the skill they acquired.
“They can stand on their own, they can even employ and hire others for them to make a living out of the skill they have acquired,” he said.
According to the statistician general, the bureau normally employs graduates that are in the labour market in conducting surveys, “but we have decided to extend this kind of ad-hoc assignment to students.
“With this kind of training, the students will have a chance to get employees so that they can use the little resources they are earning to support themselves,” he noted.
Also, the state’s Commissioner for Higher, Technical and Vocational Education, Alhaji Muhammad Isah-Musa, said the training was important because “it catches the students young.”
According to him, the training will equip the students to know the importance of data, “because the world is now powered by data in all aspects of life.”
He therefore, urged the students to key-in and give the training all the necessary support to succeed, especially in making an impact on the society.
Earlier, the Chairman, Gwagware Foundation, Alhaji Yusuf Ali-Musa, said the training was the first of its kind in the state, hence the need for the students to make use of the knowledge for the development of Katsina State and the nation in general.
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