FCTA Advocates For Multilingual Education

By: Kabiru Musa & Sarah Odugbo

The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) will encourage the residents of the Territory to embrace Multilingual Education to foster unity in diversity among the citizenry.

The Director, Department of Mass Education in the FCTA, Hajia Titilayo Alayande, gave this assurance during a commemoration of the 2024 International Literacy Day in collaboration with a Non-Governmental Organization, ‘No Child is Left Behind’ at the Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) Camp, Durumi District, Abuja.

The Director said Multilingual education is not just about learning to read and write in different languages but about fostering peace and unity and how to appreciate unity in diversity.

Alayande stated that the programme with a theme: “Promoting Multilingual Education, Mutual Understanding, and Peace,” would concentrate on the children’s enrollment in the ‘school without walls’ which is a programme designed to provide education to displaced and marginalized communities.

The Director remarked that by equipping children with the ability to communicate across different languages, is a sowing of seeds for unity, peace and understanding, which are essential ingredients for national development.

She explained that by promoting literacy in various languages, the individuals are empowered not only to participate fully in the society but also to help build bridges that contribute to global peace and stability.

The Director stressed that it is critical to provide resources that allow young people to access education in other languages to enhance their communication skills and networking abilities, which is capable of fostering peace, unity and understanding among citizens.

She said that the FCT Administration in collaboration with ‘No Child is Left Behind’ has reaffirmed commitment to ensuring that every child in the Federal Capital Territory have access to quality education in a safe and economically supportive environment to enable them contribute to the peace of a diverse society.

The facilitator of the NGO, Mrs. Nene Amodu, expressed satisfaction in breaking the barriers to education accessibility; revealing that the NGO is a Nigeria in Diaspora Organization, which focuses on education for all.

She commended the Department of Mass Education in the FCT for being in the forefront of creating literacy awareness and choosing the IDP camp to be used as a venue for the 2024 International Literacy Day celebration.