From Agaju Madugba, Katsina
The Federal Government through the National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE) has adopted RANA, a United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) model on early childhood education specifically targeted at children in Northern Nigeria.
With funding from the United Kingdom Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), UNICEF initiated the Hausa language Reading And Numeracy Activity (RANA) project in 2016 as a pilot programme across select schools in some Local Government Areas of Zamfara, Kano and Katsina states.
Only two years later in 2018, implementors of the scheme describe it as revolutionary with school enrolment for primary one to three children recording overwhelming increase in the target schools.
Essentially, the RANA programme uses play, songs and other methods to introduce children to basic reading and numeracy skills, with training by UNICEF of master trainers who subsequently return to their schools to step down the knowledge for other teachers.
According to the RANA coordinator at the Federal College of Education, Katsina, Aliyu Mohammed, the initiative recorded so much impact on the children that the school authorities recommended it for inclusion in the school’s curriculum as a component of early childhood education programme of the school.
Muhammed spoke on Thursday when a team of reporters visited the school as part of UNICEF’s media dialogue and assessment of the group’s Girl Education Project (GEP3) and other interventionist programmes being implemented in the area.
“Due to the RANA success story within a very short period, the school management recommended it to be part of the syllabus,” Mohammed said, adding that, “the NCCE approved the proposal and other institutions have since joined the train of producing RANA specialist teachers.
“We have since expanded the programme to also capture children from primary four to primary six and some other states in the North including Taraba, Borno, Kebbi and Sokoto have keyed into the programme.
One of the beneficiaries of the project, Nana Rabiu Lawal, who received a UNICEF scholarship to study Early Childhood Education at the Isa Kaita College of Education, Dutsinma, Katsina State, said that, “we are all excited by the UNICEF intervention more so as girls’ enrolment in schools has increased since the introduction of RANA.”