Bridge Reaffirms Commitment to Reach Underserved Communities

Bridge International Academies has reaffirmed its mission to delivering life changing education to children living in the underserved communities, following a report by the World Bank and UNESCO which shows the extent to which education systems around the world are failing to provide a quality education and decent classroom conditions in which children can learn.

According to a Bridge spokesperson, the recent report by UNESCO on the number of children who are in school but aren’t learning has further reaffirmed the organisation’s commitment to reach as many children living in underserved communities.

The UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2017) data shows that from 128 million school-aged children, 37 million children in sub-Saharan Africa will learn so little while they are still in school and will not be achieving minimum proficiency levels in reading. The federal government of Nigeria has also announced that the number of out of school children has increased to 10.7 million. Commenting on a recent research finding on parent’s satisfaction of the learning gains of pupils at Bridge schools, he said the organisation is clear that the measures of quality education are demonstrable learning gains and strong academic performance.

“Ninety per cent of our parents are happy with the improvements they have seen in their children. Bridge is working in support of SDG4 which establishes that quality, and learning outcomes, are required for a child’s right to education to be delivered,” the spokesman, in a release provided by Mr. Femi Awopetu, added.

Bridge has over the years specialised in providing robust technology driven education system to low income households in developing economies. He said a lot of resources and time is put into research, development, technology and learning development before schools are opened.

“This is because Bridge is particular about where schools are located and ensure that the needs of our pupils are met – ensuring that our millionth pupil receives the same, if not better, life changing education as our first.” Bridge schools are located in communities such as Egberigbe in Ikorodu, Ijegun, Badagry, Ajangbadi and Orimedu in Ibeju Lekki.

On how affordable the school is for residents within such communities, he said “We make our schools available to everyone who desire to give their children the chance to a life changing education and learning irrespective of their socio-economic class or affiliations at affordable fees. On top of the low fees, there are scholarship programmes in place to support families who are unable to send their children to school or find it extremely difficult to pay the fees.”

“It is worth noting that the primary purpose of affordable school is to increase access to better education outcomes, outcomes which will subsequently drive prosperity and therefore alleviate poverty. Education for this generation is a long term sustainable solution to poverty alleviation”, he added.