September 8 is officially designated World Literacy Day. Since 1967, this event has been observed annually around the world. According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the day is celebrated "to highlight the importance of literacy and how it can help individuals, communities, and societies."
This year, stakeholders, promoters, and guardians of education in Adamawa State celebrated World Literacy Day by organizing a reading competition for Primary School pupils in the Jimeta area under the auspices of the USAID-SENSE project. The Strengthening Education in Northeast Nigeria (SENSE) program is sponsored by USAID and led by AUN's Atiku Institute for Development (AID) with a focus on improving early learning in local languages and training teachers in Primary schools in Adamawa and Gombe states.
The reading competition of texts in Hausa was held at the Jimeta Central Primary School, Jimeta-Yola, and involved two and three pupils from the schools.
At the end of the keen contest, Aisha Umar emerged as the winner in the Primary two categories, with Adamu Sani and Mandamu Morris in the second and third positions. Ibrahim I. Ibrahim took the first position in the Primary three category while Mohammed Umar and Hafsat Yusuf came 2nd and 3rd, respectively.
At the end of the competition, prizes were presented to the winners and all the children.
Chief of Party of the USAID-SENSE project, Dr. Audu Liman, expressed satisfaction with the progress recorded by participants and confidence in the project's lasting impact.
"SENSE is in Adamawa forever; it has come to stay." He noted that literacy is not determined by a specific language but by the ability to read and write in any language. He said that is why SENSE had decided to train children in Adamawa to read and write in the Hausa language, as they will be able to do the same in other languages once the basics have been imbibed.
The Executive Chairman, Adamawa State Universal Education Board, ADSUBEB, Dr. Sani Atiku, said that “we celebrate literacy without knowing its value until we realize how dangerous illiteracy can be as a disease”.
He noted that the Governor of the State, Hon. Umaru Fintiri places so much value on education. He ended by appreciating SENSE, saying that they are proud of what the program has so far accomplished. To show his appreciation for the excellent performance of the pupils, the Executive Chairman awarded the participants a cash prize of a hundred thousand naira and urged them to continue improving on what they had learned.
The Education Secretary of Yola North LGA, Malam Rabiu Musa, said the day is also essential to celebrate the enormous impact SENSE has made in the education sector in the state as School-based Management Committee (SBMC) members in 24 schools across the LGA had received training and sensitization through the facilitation of SENSE.
Mr. Medugu Stephen, the State Team Lead, said that they had not performed any magic for these young children to read fluently as they did in Hausa, but just professional input from the SENSE team and the teachers of these children. He appreciated the SENSE Team and the education Secretaries for their efforts in the project.
Reported by Mary Andepam