EU Announces Investment Of €5.4 Million Euros On Nigerian Teachers

The European Union (EU) has announced the investment of an additional €5.4 million euros in building the capacity of teachers in the Northwest.

The EU Commissioner for International Partnerships, Jutta Urpilainen made the disclosure in Abuja at the official launch of the €4O million intervention programme on education and youth empowerment in North Western Nigeria through the Global Gateway initiative.

The development is in line with the commission’s commitment to reduce the number of out of school children in the region by improving access to quality education.

Urpilainen explained that the extra fund was to ensure that teachers get the necessary skills to nurture skills with requisite knowledge.

The EU Commissioner said: “Actually, this component is complemented by a €5.4 million euros separate programme that we signed today, which is dedicated to teachers for aiming to build their resilience and capacity in challenging environments. We have to remember that there is no education without teachers and that’s why we also have to invest in teacher training.

“The third objective of our programme is really that it empowers youth with the skills they need, providing vocational education as promoting behavioral change campaigns to challenge harmful social norms and empower girls.”

Urpilainen also added that the European Union was set to provide vocational education and training for Nigerian youths in order to equip them with the necessary skills required to excel in the labour market.

“This ambitious programme launched today has been designed with Nigerian authorities to ensure ownership and an adequate response to the local needs. The EU is not only targeting the youth through this specific programme, it is also bringing the youth to the driving seat and this is why as the EU, we set up the Youth Sounding Board, also here in Nigeria, as well as in many countries to make sure that what we do is for the youth but also by the youth.

“We have to include young people in the decision making, we have to create spaces and structures where young people feel that they are visible and they watch this and this is precisely what the European Union is doing,” she added.