The Star Education and Leadership Initiative (SELI) has built and commissioned two fully equipped educational playgrounds for schools in underserved communities in Plateau State, expanding access to play-based learning for more than 500 schoolchildren.
The beneficiary schools—Baptist Model Academy, Gwafan Lamingo, and Happy Days Private School, Tina Junction, Jos—received customised playgrounds fitted with age-appropriate educational play equipment such as seesaws, monkey ladders, tyre calculators, swings, playhuts, slides, walkways, pyramids, and other interactive learning structures.
Speaking during the commissioning and formal handover of the facilities, Aunty Esther Onyinyechi Mark, Founder and Executive Director of SELI, said the project was conceived to motivate children to attend school, stay in school, and achieve better academic outcomes.
“We believe access to quality education is the fundamental right of every child,” she said. “These playgrounds are an enticing reason for children to want to come to school. Beyond the fun, they also serve as teaching aids and instructional materials. Teachers can embed many of the play elements into their classroom curriculum to support learning.”
Mark noted that the playgrounds were introduced to strengthen school attendance and rekindle children’s love for learning, particularly in regions battling significant education challenges.
“In Northern Nigeria, across the North Central and the North East, we have some of the highest numbers of out-of-school children,” she said. “This is our own way of encouraging more children to be in school and stay in school. Through these playgrounds, we want them to feel joy, to develop cognitively, socially, and emotionally. Play is not just play; play is learning.”
The playgrounds, she added, are designed to support children’s cognitive development while enhancing communication, social interaction, and critical-thinking skills.
The initiative was supported through the Reciprocal Exchange Component of the Mandela Washington Fellowship, a program of the U.S. Department of State, administered by IREX, in collaboration with Play360.
Parents, teachers, and community leaders who spoke with our correspondent expressed deep appreciation, saying the playgrounds have brought renewed excitement to the school environment and will significantly improve teaching and learning outcomes.