Gov. Umaru Bago of Niger on Thursday inaugurated the “Second-Chance” school project by the Universal Basic Education (UBEC) to provide access to basic education for women and girls.
Speaking at the 17th graduation and inauguration of the programme at the Maizube Nomadic School, Bago Represented by his deputy, Mr Yakubu Garba, said the project was to give second chance to women and girls to acquire basic education or vocational skills to better their lives and community.
Bago commended the former head of state, retired Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar, for leading the provision of free access to education in the state, adding that, the school was complementing government efforts in providing basic education for people.
In his remarks, the former head of state thanked parents for entrusting their children to the school and advised them to continue to enroll their wards.
He said that education was the only legacy to give to their wards.
Abubakar lauded UBEC for the second chance school project and urged the graduands to continue to be good ambassador of the school.
In his address, Malam Kolo Mohammed, Principal of Maizube Nomadic School, disclosed that the school was established in 2002 by former head of state to give back to the society through education.
He said that the nomadic school provides free education for children of the nomads living in Dogon-Ruwa and Sabon-Dagah communities around Maizube farm.
Mohammed said that the school since inception, had graduated 700 nomadic students from primary, junior and senior secondary with 425 pupils currently in the school.
NAN reports that the second chance education programme is focused on providing a safe space within the community environment where young women, girls and adult women alike could express themselves through creative activities and develop basic literacy and numeracy skills using contextually-relevant materials.
