The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has called on the Benue State Government to strengthen its commitment to improving access to quality education, particularly for children displaced by insecurity and living in internally displaced persons (IDP) camps.
The organisation urged the government to provide adequate educational infrastructure, improve learning environments and address the challenges preventing displaced children from accessing uninterrupted education.
UNICEF Education Specialist at its Enugu Field Office, Believe Eke, made the call during the unveiling of the Rapid Education Needs Assessment Report for Benue State, conducted in collaboration with the state Ministry of Education and the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB).
Eke explained that the assessment followed a request by the state government to determine the actual educational needs of children across the state, particularly those affected by humanitarian crises and displacement.
He noted that insecurity had rendered many children homeless, disrupted their education and exposed them to conditions that threatened their access to quality learning.
According to him, the assessment covered children in IDP camps and host communities across six local government areas most affected by the crisis.
“We looked at the educational needs of children in both IDP camps and host communities to understand the challenges confronting the education sector in the state.
“We engaged consultants and worked with enumerators across six local government areas that were mostly affected by the crisis. Based on our findings, we made recommendations to the government on the necessary interventions and identified areas where UNICEF could provide additional support,” he said.
The UNICEF specialist said the findings revealed significant gaps in the provision of basic and quality education in IDP camps.
He explained that beyond the need for additional classrooms, schools also required essential facilities such as potable water, sanitation and hygiene services, which were inadequate in many learning centres.
Eke further recommended alternative and flexible learning arrangements for displaced children who could not access formal education, as well as psychosocial support for teachers and learners dealing with the effects of the humanitarian crisis.
He disclosed that UNICEF had already commenced interventions in some IDP camps, including the renovation of damaged classrooms, enrolment of displaced children and capacity-building programmes for learning facilitators.
“During our visits to some of the IDP camps, including the Mega Camp and Abagena Camp, we supported the renovation of classrooms whose roofs had been blown off.
“We have enrolled more than 1,000 children in these camps and engaged facilitators, with support from the Ministry of Education, to build their capacity through training and ensure that the children receive quality education.
“We are also providing psychosocial support because of the emergency conditions these children and their teachers are experiencing,” he said.
Eke stressed that displaced children and their teachers required special attention, noting that their current circumstances were different from the environments in which they would ordinarily prefer to learn and work.
He added that UNICEF was providing learning materials and other forms of support to sustain educational activities in the camps.
The specialist reaffirmed the organisation’s commitment to strengthening its partnership with the Benue State Government to improve access to education and address the challenges facing vulnerable children.
Earlier, the Benue State Commissioner for Education and Knowledge Management, Margaret Adamu, represented by the Permanent Secretary, Secondary and Tertiary Education, Helen Nambativ, commended UNICEF for its consistent partnership and commitment to strengthening the state’s education sector.
She said the collaboration reflected a shared commitment to recognising education as a fundamental right of every child and an important driver of sustainable development, social stability and economic prosperity.
Adamu emphasised the importance of reliable data and evidence-based assessments in identifying challenges within the education sector and ensuring that government policies and resource allocations addressed actual needs.
She explained that the assessment was designed to provide a clear picture of the state of education in Benue, identify critical gaps, examine existing challenges and highlight opportunities for improving access, equity, quality and learning outcomes.
According to her, the state continues to face significant educational challenges arising from insecurity, displacement, increasing numbers of out-of-school children, inadequate infrastructure, teacher-related concerns and other systemic constraints.
She noted that these challenges had particularly affected children in vulnerable and conflict-affected communities, many of whom struggle to access quality and uninterrupted education.
“Against this background, the findings of this assessment are particularly important. They will provide the government and development partners with the evidence required to prioritise interventions, strengthen policies, improve planning and ensure that available resources are directed towards areas of greatest need,” she said.
The commissioner urged stakeholders to critically examine the findings and contribute to validating the report, stressing that its recommendations must be practical, realistic and capable of implementation.
She maintained that the success of the exercise would ultimately depend on how effectively its recommendations translated into improved educational opportunities and better learning outcomes for children across the state.
Adamu also stressed that improving education was a collective responsibility requiring the participation of government agencies, development partners, civil society organisations, traditional institutions, parents, teachers, communities and school administrators.
She reaffirmed the state government’s commitment to expanding access to education, improving teachers’ welfare and capacity, providing conducive learning environments and ensuring that no child was left behind, regardless of location or background.
The commissioner expressed appreciation to UNICEF for its technical and institutional support, while calling for sustained collaboration to advance educational development in Benue State.
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