Sharjah's Noun project to designate ‘education chair’ in regular schools

opn-Children-in-a-classroom-1548248514931 — The Noun project seeks to secure the right to education of underprivileged children. Image Credit: Supplied

Sharjah: The Noun project — which was launched by Sharjah Social Services Department (SSSD) in 2016 with the aim to provide educational support to underprivileged children — has been relaunched under a new mechanism.

Amina Al Rifai, director of the Child and Family Protection Center at SSSD, said the Noun project was working to provide an “education chair” in regular schools from the first to the 12th grade. As a first step, approximately 50 children are targeted for enrolment during the current 2021-2022 school year in public or private schools.

Amina Al Rifai

The project was previously carried out through the ‘Noun convoy’ moving between residential neighbourhoods to teach children. However, the convoy had to be stopped due to the COVID-19 pandemic and SSSD decided to transfer the children to regular schools to safeguard their right to education. The department also hopes to secure the participation of institutions, private entities and individuals in the project.

Al Rifai said: “The Noun programme provides an opportunity to community members to support and sponsor students from the first to the 12th grade from low-income families and also those who are going through difficult socio-economic circumstances in their lives.

The project primarily includes three objectives: The first is to secure the right to education for children without social care in Sharjah. The second objective is to re-enrol children who have dropped out of school. The third objective is to develop a culture of social responsibility among individuals and institutions.