By Diana Omueza
The Government of the Ireland and the Government of Norway have advocated for an improved educational system in Nigeria to meet international education standards and address the needs of out of school students.
Mr Ronan McGurrin, Second Secretary, Embassy of Ireland in Nigeria, said this on Wednesday in Abuja at an event organised to commemorate the 2023 Universal Children’s Day.
The event was organised by the Knosks N100-A-Day Charity Secondary School Kuje in partnership with Transcorp Hilton Hotel Abuja.
McGurrin said that there was a need for the Nigerian government at all levels to sustain its achievement in the educational system and also enhance it to maintain balance within the international education parameters.
“For us in Ireland, we have been supporting the Knosks N100-A-Day Charity Secondary School in their educational affairs for the past couple of years.
“We began our engagement with them in 2020 because they are about education, and for us in Ireland, education is as fundamental as human rights.
“And this is because we know there are issues in parts of the world in achieving gender equality and education, which is key especially for women and girls is fundamental in driving gender equality.
“So we are happy to be supporting the educational system in Nigeria through this school, and we urge the Nigeria government to put in more effort to ensure its standards are maintained and heightened, ” he said.
McGurrin said that no child should be left behind in education and stakeholders should strive to meet basic educational needs.
Mr Ronny Saether, Second Secretary, Head of Security and Consular Affairs (HOC) Norwegian Embassy, said that the Universal Children’s Day was a reminder that all hands must be on deck to ensure the sustainability of education globally.
Saether said that every child deserved to have a space in the society, and it could only be achieved when they had a space in school and in a classroom.
“The Universal Children’s Day is so important, it shows that when it comes to education we all must lock horns and focus on the fundamental human rights of education where every child has a space in school.
“And we must applaud the Knosks N100-A-Day school for actually striving to achieve this goals by creating a space for the underprivileged kids in school,” he said.
Mrs Irene Bangwell, co-founder of Knosks N100-A-Day Charity Secondary School, said that the event was organized to create an environment that allowed underprivileged children to meet with privileged children and share thoughts and ideas.
This she said would help create an inclusive society for every child irrespective of financial or economic level.
“Today’s event is to give these children the opportunity to voice their thoughts and ideas and to call on stakeholders to support, listen, and include them in their plans, programmes, and policies.
“We know this children are from underprivileged families but we also know they have relatives, they see problems, they experience them and they have the initiatives, talents, voices and inclinations to attempt to solve these problems.
“So today we have given them this platform to contribute to development conversations on climate change and green future using artistic drawings, songs, dance, drama and short talks,” she said.
According to Bangwell, this will help these children understand that society and the world are not about who has and who doesn’t have money.
Bangwell urged stakeholders to create platforms that would accommodate children from underprivileged families to share and make imput in policies that directly affect them and not just make policies for them but with them involved.
Mrs Olusola Bankole, a member of the board of the school, called for sponsorship of children in the school to ensure that they concluded their education.
She also appealed to the government to support organisations and schools that were filling the gaps in education.