UBEB adopts code of conduct for non-formal education

The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Universal Basic Education Board (UBEB) has adopted the use of Educating Nigeria Girls in New Enterprises (ENGINE II) Code of Conduct developed for learning centres in adult and non-formal education programmes. The code of conduct, initiated by an NGO, Tabitha Cumi Foundation (TCF), was developed by the National Commission for […]

The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Universal Basic Education Board (UBEB) has adopted the use of Educating Nigeria Girls in New Enterprises (ENGINE II) Code of Conduct developed for learning centres in adult and non-formal education programmes.

The code of conduct, initiated by an NGO, Tabitha Cumi Foundation (TCF), was developed by the National Commission for Mass Literacy, Adult and Non-formal Education (NMEC) and ENGINE II, a project sponsored by DFID for marginalised girls in rural communities.

Bako Hussaini, a deputy director in the board, who represented the Director, Dr. Adamu Noma, while receiving the documents from the team, said the Code of Conduct of Child and Vulnerable Adults Protection (CVAP) and life skills manuals were used in over 800 primary schools and junior secondary schools in the territory.

He added that through the post-ENGINE programme, the board would empower and equip many girls with knowledge and response mechanisms on CVAP considering the rising incidences of violence and abuse of girls across the country. He further said the partners had helped improve school attendance of girls in the rural communities, adding that the focus on girls was because the percentage of out-of-school girls was becoming alarming.

The Executive Secretary of NMEC, Prof. Abubakar Haladu, said the code of conduct was meant to provide some kind of regulation and ensure protection of learners wherever they were in the country. “This document is very important to us because non-formal centres in the country have a written course in the way they carry out their activities, but this seems to be the first time a code of conduct is written in order to guide and regulate the conduct of a non-formal education activities in the country,” he said.

The Executive Director, (TCF) Mrs. Tayo Erinle, said while they were leveraging on the MNEC Literacy by Radio programme to teach mostly basic and post-basic learners in far-to-reach communities that did not have android phones during the COVID-19 lockdown, they had code of conduct they were working on for formal education within the FCT and that they also initiated it for non-formal learners within the FCT.

“You know non-formal learners are adults and they have their way of life; some are traders and they bring their wares to the learning centres. Some bring their children along, but it is important to have a code of conduct to show what is permissible and what is not allowed within the learning environment and for protection of the learners against many things. This is necessary because there is a lot of power play, there are facilitators who could take advantage, so we have to make the learning environment safe for them,” she added.