By Balarabe Abdullahi Kiru
Kano State Government has expressed its commitment to support Better Education for Africa’s Rise (BEAR) III project initiated by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and Republic of Korea to enhance technical and vocational education across the state.
The State Commissioner of Education Dr. Ali Haruna Abubakar Makoda gave the assurance today Tuesday while receiving UNESCO delegation that paid him a courtesy visit in his office.
Dr. Ali Haruna described BEAR III Project as positive initiative that aligns with policies of the present administration of improving technical and vocational training in the state.
“The technical and vocational education training introduced by UNESCO and Government of Republic of Korea is in line with Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf’s agenda of skills acquisition programmes to make our youth self-reliance” he pointed out.
The Commissioner represented by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry Alhaji Bashir Baffa Muhammad assured the team that Kano State Government would continue to partner with UNESCO and Republic of Korea to enhance technical and vocational training in basic and post basic schools across the state.
He therefore implored the project coordinator to look in to the possibility for expanding the project to include basic and post basic schools in view of the programme importance.
Dr. Makoda however noted that Kano is fully blessed with agricultural activities that could be utilized to provide job opportunities to students in primary and post primary schools.
Earlier, the regional coordinator BEAR III Project Manish Joshi explained that in Nigeria , BEAR III activities focus on the agricultural sector with emphasis on agro-processing and post-harvest management.
He disclosed that the project is a joint initiative between UNESCO and Republic of Korea dedicated to strengthening the technical and vocational education and training (TVET) systems of selected countries in Africa.
“The third phase of the BEAR project will be implemented in four new beneficiary countries in West Africa including Cote d’ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria and Sierra leone from 2023-2024 building on the positive and sustainable outcomes of the BEAR II project.
“Better Education for Africa’s Rise project (BEAR III) aims to give young people in West Africa better chance of accessing decent employment by promoting sustainable improvement in the technical and vocational education and training system of beneficiary countries ” he disclosed.
Manish said the project is built on three basic pillars that helped in translating the system strengthening, which according to him, include making the project more relevant to the need of the beneficiary countries, enhancing the quality of technical and vocational education and training delivered to trainees and improving perception of the project among young people.
On her part, the Director Technical and Science Education Federal Ministry of Education Dr. (Mrs) M.A Olodo revealed that the team was in the state to hold the next phase meeting with relevant stakeholders regarding the implementation of BEAR III Project in Kano.
She noted that the programme had only three quarters left to round up, assuring of the team’s commitment to make the best use of the time left in achieving the designed objectives.