The immediate past emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, has partnered with a Canada-based social enterprise, 1 Million Teachers (1MT), to provide equitable and high impact projects that enhance learning opportunities for the less privileged in the society.
Sanusi, who is the chairman of the Advisory Board of 1M Teachers in Nigeria and the member of the parent company in Canada, said the initiative is part of his lifelong mandate for the implementation of the SDG 4 and SDG 5.
The project, HH MSII SDG Challenge, is an equitable, cost-effective and innovative project that provides opportunities to improve access to quality and gender responsive education for women and girls in crisis, conflict, and fragile situations.
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It also aims to inspire and catalyse innovative community development activities that support the achievement of the SDGs, particularly quality education and gender equality.
“Education holds the key to our development. We must continue to give priority attention to the sector because it is the bedrock of any development,” Sanusi said following the official announcement of the project by 1M Teachers.
“We are part of a wider society, our happiness, our success and prosperity will come to nothing if we do not ensure that the vast majority amongst us share in that prosperity and success.
“I have the strong belief that educating the girl child will improve nutrition, reduce infant mortality, poverty and provide a better life for the deprived in our society,” he said.
The project will also be funded through an endowment fund facilitated by HH Muhammed Sanusi II. The HH MSII SDG Challenge calls on ideas for local community teachers on how education can be delivered qualitatively and equitably to grassroots communities.
Successful applicants will receive 10 grants of $500 each across sub-Saharan African countries annually. Participating teachers will have the learning opportunities in design thinking, stakeholder engagement, and project management.
In addition to this, there will be one-on-one access to specialist advisors from Queen’s University Faculty of Education (Canada) and a dedicated mentor for each programme.
Application to enter into the programme will kick off on the October 1 and close on October 31, 2020 and the eventual winners/awardees will be announced on December 15, 2020.
