The American University of Nigeria, AUN in Adamawa has received a grant from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) for the improvement of education in Adamawa and Gombe states.
The university in collaboration with the Adamawa and Gombe states’ ministries of education, Universal Basic Education Board, state-owned universities and colleges of education, as well as Kent State University and Columbia University in the United States, AENEN is targeting the improvement in the managerial capacity of 100 education managers and an upgrade in the teaching skills of 5,000 teachers, particularly female teachers in its new project, ‘Addressing Education in Northeast Nigeria’ (AENEN), will cover a three-year period..
The project, which will be managed by the university, will also target 200 primary schools, with the goal of improving educational outcomes for 200,000 primary school children.
President Dekle expressed delight with the grant award which she said further underscores the trust and confidence that international development partners have for the University’s transparent management of donor funds.
With its mission of development and entrepreneurship, AUN, whose students are required to participate in a community service scheme throughout their academic program, is playing a pivotal role in post-conflict rehabilitation in Northeast Nigeria, especially in introducing out-of-school boys and girls to formal education. The Atiku Center for Leadership, Entrepreneurship, and Development coordinates all intervention and outreach programs for AUN.
AENEN Chief of Party and AUN’s Grant Administrator, Audu Liman, assured that his team has the experience, commitment, and resolve to achieve sterling results from the sponsored project.
The Atiku Center at AUN is one of the leading development centers located in Northeast Nigeria. Being located within the Northeast, the Center, which has an excellent knowledge of regional development challenges, has in the past developed AUN-funded interventions as part of its community outreach to address many of these needs. The Center is currently the largest implementer of livelihoods activities in the Northeast with projects funded by United Nations High Commission for Refugees, Food and Agriculture Organization, United States Agency for International Development, etc. on interventions addressing the challenges faced by the people of Northeast Nigeria.
Explaining AENAN, Audu Liman said, “We developed a proposal to address education quality in Northeast Nigeria in response to a USAID global call for proposals. The proposal combines AUN’s local knowledge and experience of Nigeria education system with global perspectives in international education from our partnership with Columbia University and Kent State University, both leading education providers of international renown.