UNICEF’s Digital Initiative in Borno Achieves Milestone, with 36,995 Students Engaged in Learning Activities
By Tada Juthan, Maiduguri
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has said that the Nigeria Learning Passport (NLP) has reached over 290,000 users in providing access to teaching and learning materials in 18 states.
According to the Fund, NPL is a digital learning platform that has free access to localized content and enables quality teaching and learning activity in the library.
Unveiling the learning platform, on Saturday in Maiduguri, at the NPL spelling competition, the Office-in-Charge and UNICEF Education Manager, Caroline Waruguru Mwai, disclosed: “This platform has digital records of learning and data analytical functionality on both web and mobile applications.”
Additionally, she said that it provides access to 15,000 teaching and learning materials that align with the national curriculum and global supplementary resources.
Besides accessing materials, Mwai reiterated that NPL supports the professional development of over 30,000 teachers in 16 states of the country.
According to her, the teachers were also trained in digital literacy and digital pedagogical skills.
On the importance of the platform, she noted that “this equips educators with the tools to effectively leverage technology in the classroom.
“The digital platform can be used by learners, teachers,
educators, parents, and the caregivers.”
While thanking the Borno state government for its support and collaboration to implement NPL, the UNICEF education manager said the Ministry of Education, Science, Technology, and Innovation and the State’s Universal Education Board (SUBEB) have played a vital role in mobilizing and engaging strategically on the digital learning initiative.
On the impacts of digital learning, Mwai said that the state has reached 19,300 learners in 2023.
In 2023, Borno State reached a total of 19,300 learners through NLP, while in 2024 the state has a total of 36,995 learners enrolled, with over 15,000 actively registered in at least a course on the platform.
Meanwhile, she added that UNICEF, with support from various donors comprising Airtel, SILSA, Sony, and FCDO, has provided 270 Samsung tablets, 30 routers, and projectors across all implementation schools.
“We are currently in the process of deploying 10 offline devices to cater for locations without network connectivity,” she said, stating that the UN agency is to train the EiE so that partners on the NPL will patronize digital learning for their targeted interventions.
She continued: “To all our children who took this initiative wholeheartedly have expressed their enthusiasm in learning, including the NPL spelling competition among primary and secondary schools in Maiduguri.”
She, therefore, announced that Capital Senior Secondary School emerged first, while Baraimul Junior Secondary School and El-Kanemi Theological College Primary School clinched the second and third positions in correct spelling of words. acquisition, which is mandatory for a better future.
Parents and teachers were also urged to continue supporting children and wards to secure their future.
