The adult education programme of the Federal Capital Territory Administration is witnessing a surge in enrolment, as over 15,000 people are said to be currently enrolled in the programme.
The FCT Department of Mass Education attributed this increment to its inclusive mass education programme which inculcate skill acquisition for adults in underserved communities of the six area councils.
Speaking at a press conference to commemorate the International Literacy Day over the weekend, the Acting Secretary for Education, Abdulrazaq Leramoh, said the FCTA is aligning skills acquisition with formal and nonformal education in its mass literacy programme to encourage more participation.
Leramoh pointed out that certificates alone cannot provide food on the table, particularly with growing unemployment in the country.
“We are developing a policy to ensure that as we are empowering those in informal education with the opportunity to acquire skills through our various vocational centres.
“We are still introducing vocational study in the form of entrepreneurship education so that by the time some of the children come out of schools, they are coming out with skills that they can work with,” he said.
He explained that the FCTA has put in place a robust platform that allows for both formal and informal education activities to hold simultaneously, as it has set up literacy and skills acquisition centres across the six Area council.
“Literacy initiatives in the FCT include adult education programmes, community-based literacy centers and literacy for out of school children and youth, and digital literacy.
“Others are financial literacy, skill acquisition programmes, women education, nomadic adult literacy and continuing education programmes,” he said.
Highlighting some of the strides so far recorded, the Director Mass Education, Hajarat Titilayo-Alayande, said with the improvement of ICT programmes, the ICT centres will host the JAMB CBT next year.
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 on vocational skills.
The director also said that the department equally provides free skill acquisition training, adding that 1,400 persons were being trained on different skills every quarter.
Meanwhile, Director, Secondary Education Board, Dr. Sani Ladan, said that the secretariat was working to ensure that no child leaves the school without a skill through entrepreneurship education.
“We are given assignments on providing innovative solutions to environmental challenges and other societal problems. This will enable them to be self-reliant and contribute to nation building and development,” Ladan said.
The International Literacy Day is commemorated every September 9, to create awareness on the significance of education for all. This year’s theme is, “Promoting Literacy for a World in transition: Building the Foundation for Sustainable and Peaceful Societies.”
