Tunis: The Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS) and UNICEF on Wednesday signed a partnership agreement aimed at supporting education and training systems for Tunisian teenagers who are not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET). Under the agreement, the AICS will inject pound 3.5 million in financial support for the Second Chance School programme run by UNICEF in partnership with the Ministries of Education, Social Affairs, Employment and Vocational Training, it said in a statement. The new funding for the Second Chance School programme will enable 9,000 teenagers to receive support and guidance to reintegrate into education, training or employment, UNICEF said in a statement. The Second Chance School is responsible for receiving, guiding, rehabilitating and accompanying young people between the ages of 12 and 18 who have dropped out of school without obtaining a school certificate that concludes an educational stage or a vocational training qualification. It enables them to continue stu dying in educational institutions affiliated with the Ministry of Education, join the vocational training system, or prepare for integration into the labour market. The Second Chance School in Bab al-Khadra, Tunis, was launched on April 6, 2021. It was followed by the Second Chance School in Kairouan which opened its doors to school dropouts between the ages of 12 and 18 on January 15, 2024. A study by the United Nations Office in Tunis, the International Labour Organisation and the United Nations Development Programme in Tunisia, published in September 2023, revealed that a quarter of young people are not in Education, Training or Employment. Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse