Borno State is in north-east Nigeria and shares a border with Chad, Niger and Cameroon. In 2014, Borno came to international attention when the town of Chibok was the site of a school kidnapping in which over 270 girls were taken from their classrooms by the terrorist organisation, Boko Haram—over 100 of whom are still missing.
In Borno State, the government leads a tripartite education programme with the Nigerian Stock Exchange and Bridge. The programme consists of one pilot school, Maisandari Alamderi Model Nursery and Primary School. The government’s ambition is to use the pilot school to lead a full scale public transformation across the state.
The government programme in Borno will redefine the provision of quality and accessible education to children, starting with the internally displaced children and those affected by insurgency.
The Nigerian Stock Exchange’s involvement was in response to the Recovery and Peace Building Assessment (RPBA) report for North-East Nigeria—by the Federal Government of Nigeria, North-East State Government, the European Union (EU), the United Nations (UN) and the World Bank (WB)—which highlighted education as one of the strategic areas requiring urgent attention.
Arguably Borno State is the hardest hit by Boko Haram, and a lack of quality education plagues the region. The Nigerian Emergency Management Authority estimates that about 600 teachers have been murdered, 19,000 teachers displaced and 1,200 schools damaged or destroyed. This has resulted in 600,000 children losing access to learning since 2013. In IDP camps, 75% of children do not attend school.
The demand for education is so great that the local community over enrolled for the model partnership school by 800 children for 250 spaces. Many had never previously attended a formal school. Eighty-per-cent of children at the model school have demonstrated remarkable improvements in reading and numeracy in the first year of its operation.
The partnership is committed to providing: “an inclusive, safe and positive teaching and learning environment.” In addition, it’s determined to enable girls to succeed and at present 51.9% of the pupils are boys and the remaining 48.1% are girls.
