Abuja – 22 June, 2024

ImpactHouse Centre for Development Communication (ImpactHouse), publishers of Development Diaries, and the System Strategy and Policy Lab (SSPL) are thrilled to announce the selection of 27 journalists as fellows for the ‘Change Reporting 2.0 Media Fellowship on Gender Responsive Education Sector Planning (GRESP)’ in Nigeria.

Change Reporting is an ImpactHouse initiative aimed at supporting journalists and other media professionals with the resources that they need to hold the government, including public officials and institutions, accountable as part of their constitutionally guaranteed media responsibility to the Nigerian people.

First held in 2014, this year’s fellowship on GRESP is designed to equip fellows with the advocacy skills to significantly amplify the importance of gender equality within education systems across states and demand action from concerned authorities.

The Change Reporting 2.0 fellows – selected from Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Kaduna, Kano, Oyo, and Sokoto – include:

1. 1. Yahuza Bawage – Prime Progress
   2. Obidah Habila – HumAngle
   3. Tasi’u Hassan – NAS FM
   4. Iniabasi Friday Umo –  Daily Trust
   5. Ndifreke Enefiok – The Mail
   6. Mercy Henry Obot – Crystal Express
   7. Charles Agwam – Vanguard
   8. Rauf Oyewole – The Guardian
   9. Ogechukwu Victoria Ujam – WikkiTimes
   10. Adamu Aliyu – Tarayya Media
   11. Jesse Tafida – TVC
   12. Olumide Olugotun – IIR
   13. Najib Sani – Daylight Reporters
   14. Rebecca Caleb Maina – Gombe Media Corporation
   15. Muhammad Auwal Ibrahim – Halal Reporters 
   16. Aisha Gambo – News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)
   17. Angela Elue Okafor – Supreme FM
   18. Abubakar Tukur – FRCN
   19. Abubakar Muhammad Usman – Media Trust Group
   20. Kolawole B. Omoniyi – Cool FM, Wazobia FM, Arewa Radio
   21. Hadiza Musa Yusuf – Prime Time News 
   22. Ridwan Adeola Yusuf – Legit.ng
   23. Lawal Sofiyyat Bolanle – PEN Press
   24. Ibukun Emiola – News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)
   25. Rakiya Abubakar Muhammad – RM Times 
   26. Nasir Abbas Babi – Garkuwa FM
   27. Abdulwasiu Olokooba – SaharaReporters

For the next ten months, the fellows will be supported with capacity building, up to N1,000,000 (one million naira) each, and other resources to track and produce journalistic work on state governments’ gender responsiveness in education planning to prompt attention and action from policymakers and decision-takers.

The programme would integrate development project analytic skills, which create measurable impact and issue-based reports, and traditional journalism skills and ethics, which create compelling and credible stories. It would also offer a structured framework for fellows to deepen their knowledge about education policies and practices that are sensitive to gender issues, particularly explaining girls’ education outcomes and access to education. 

‘To enhance access, transition, completion, quality of education, and equity, education systems must be designed to be gender-responsive’, the Founder and Executive Director of SSPL, Dr Murtala Adogi Mohammed, said. 

‘The Education Sector Plan (ESP), as a country’s blueprint for education reform, provides a crucial opportunity to integrate gender equality into every aspect of education. Additionally, provisions must be made in the state budget for the implementation of a gender-responsive sector plan’.

For his part, the Executive Director of ImpactHouse, John Andah, said, ‘After a rigorous selection process, we are incredibly proud to welcome this group of journalists to the Change Reporting 2.0 Media Fellowship on GRESP judging by their expertise and interest in covering education issues’, said 

‘Their dedication to uncovering and telling important stories about education is truly inspiring, and along with our partners, SSPL, we look forward to supporting them in their efforts to trigger positive change in basic and senior secondary education in Nigeria, especially with respect to ensuring an inclusive and equitable educational environment’.

The fellowship officially begins on Monday, 24 June, 2024, with a two-day capacity-building programme in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital.

###

For enquiries, contact:

Chinomso Momoh via chinomso@impacthouse.org.ng

Editor note:

About ImpactHouse

ImpactHouse is a Nigeria-based tech-driven nonprofit using data and storytelling to drive uniform understanding of development messages in Africa. The organisation was established to aid government-citizen action for good governance, gender equity and justice, education and human rights, and media and civil society development. ImpactHouse is a member of the National Working Group on Basic & Secondary Education in Nigeria. 

About SSPL

System Strategy and Policy Lab (SSPL) is an independent think tank providing technical support in Building Institutions for Results Delivery (BIRD). They have a strong history of work within the Basic & Secondary Education sub-sector supporting states and national governments in Nigeria to translate policies to impact. SSPL is a member of the National Working Group on Basic & Secondary Education in Nigeria.