A Non-Governmental Organization, Read to Succeed (R2S Africa) has launched ‘Dreamers Project’ across selected primary schools in Abuja, the nation’s capital, as a way to prepare school children for the future.
According to a statement signed by the Founder of R2S Africa, Simi Fajemirokun, the Dreamers Project is a three-week project that aims at goal-setting and training that will help students connect the future with the present.
Fajemirokun lamented the high level unemployment and low literacy rate in the country, noting that something needed to be done to arrest the downward spiral in the standard of education so as to groom a workforce for the future.
“The youth unemployment and underemployment rate which stands at 61.6% as released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) is staggering and in the light of Nigeria’s booming population which is set to double by 2030, the future simply cannot wait. We must be intentional about building a future workforce by exposing students to skills and training opportunities. It is the only way to leapfrog past a broken public education system that produces students who are schooling but not learning,” Fajemirokun said.
She said R2S was worried that over 24million students in the public primary education system found it difficult to read or write by the time they graduate, hence the decision of the NGO to help promote self discovery among students, boost their confidence and help them be intentional about adopting skills that are relevant for employment and entrepreneurship.
According to her, the project currently runs in five public schools in Abuja where efforts are being made to link education, skills and the future of work amongst primary 6 students.
