Borno Learning Centre Graduates 154 Pupils Orphaned By Boko Haram
The students are being trained in different areas including coding and artificial intelligence, towards advancing their education.
A total of 154 children who were orphaned by the ongoing Boko Haram insurgency graduated on Sept. 22, from primary to secondary classes at a special learning centre set up by the federal government.
The pupils had, in their primary classes, undergone various ICT-related courses.
The Learning Center, Maiduguri, was commissioned by President Muhammadu Buhari in April 2019.
The school is managed by the Northeast Children Trust Fund, a body recently set up by the federal government to cater for vulnerable kids.
Officials at the school said the learning facility was set up “to create an ecosystem for homeless children orphaned by the conflict in the Northeast of Nigeria that will echo the lives of a normal child growing and thriving in a family.”
The Learning Center, which comprises Nursery, Primary, and Secondary school sections currently has 525 vulnerable children who are mostly orphans from Borno, Adamawa and Yobe States in the Northeast.
Executive secretary and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Trust, Mariam Masha, said the centre has a total number of 525 children; 337 boys and 188 girls.
The centre currently has 472 pupils at the Primary level and 26 at the Secondary level.
The 154 pupils advancing to secondary school took lessons in coding and programming, as well as web design and programming.
The highlight of the event was the demonstration of robotics, coding, and Artificial Intelligence by the pupils.
Ms Masha who commended the students for learning so fast in a short time said “the Learning Center is more than just a school.”
She said the centre was “a place to nurture, empower and renew our children and I believe right here before us, is proof that the Northeast Children’s Trust can deliver on that mandate.”
She said at TLC, the teachers and caregivers serve “are not just knowledge transfer instructors but are facilitators of knowledge.”
“They have supported your learning and growth in very innovative ways which have unbundled the uniqueness in every one of you.”
Vice-chairman of the centre, Professor Hauwa Biu, called on the pupils “not to forget all the lessons you have learnt at the Centre.”
“As you resume secondary school, make sure you take care of each other. Always remember that you are part of a large family and network of people who invested in your growth and success and are always willing and ready to support you.”
The Borno state government said it has an official figure of over 54,000 children who were orphaned in the over 12 years of the ongoing Boko Haram insurgency.
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