It’s a Sunday afternoon in Kano, Nigeria, and Malam Aliyu Musa is walking from his home to the mosque. He carries writing materials and posters filled with letters, syllables and words. On his way, he is met by children of all ages – some as young as 3 years old – excitedly running up to him with their siblings and friends in tow.
Malam Musa is going to teach at a Community Learning Hub, an initiative under the FCDO-funded Partnership for Learning for All (PLANE) programme. These Community Learning Hubs provide a safe space for both in-school and out-of-school children to learn basic literacy and numeracy skills.
In Malam Musa’s community, the Hub is located just within the walls of a local mosque. The Hub is ardently supported by the community. Every week, over 100 children each week find their place on mats and pull out their exercise books, ready to learn.
Malam Musa is a retired teacher of 30 years who now works as a farmer. He has a deep desire to help all children learn to read and write, and when you ask him about his decision to volunteer as a Hub Facilitator, his lips break into a wide smile. His passion for education is clear. He shares:
“I became interested in teaching at the Hub having seen the impact they have had on children who would otherwise would not have access to a formal education system. This encouraged me to assist in the Learning Hubs to improve the learning and teaching skills in not only [my community] but also in the country. [The children that attend the hubs] are punctual, enjoy and understand how and what they are being taught, and their progress can be seen in how they read, write and calculate numbers.”
Second only to this deep motivation to help learners read and write is his preparedness for each session. Learning activities each week are one hour long and cover a variety of topics such as writing letters, identifying syllables, and improving reading comprehension.
The PLANE program provides a simple Facilitator’s Guide to each facilitator for the lesson covered each week. PLANE also builds capacity of the facilitators to source their own local materials and teach activities that meet the unique learning needs of the children at the hubs. Malam Musa does just that and notes the kindness with which the community has supported both him and the children. The Village Head regularly visits the Hub, while the School Based Management Committee (SBMC) Chairman and Mothers Association provide learning materials and advice to the children on the importance of education. Malam Musa notes, too, that “The Local Education Authority monitors the hubs to ascertain how and what the children are taught and [provides] some necessary tools for teaching.”
PLANE has provided training and support to 200 facilitators like Malam Musa, reaching three states in northern Nigeria. The popularity of the Hubs is a testament to community interest in education. While many challenges in education remain, the Hubs offer one model for communities to take ownership of education and expand learning opportunities for children.
Story written by FHI360/Caitlin Downs and Yusuf Kabir.
