Tag Archives: Girl Child Education

Sokoto Government to convene national conference on girl-child education

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Sokoto State Government said it will convene a national stakeholders’ conference on girl-child education in early 2017.

The conference, to be organized with the collaboration of UNICEF and the Sultan Foundation, will have presentations from experts from across the globe on how to address the issue of falling standard of education, especially female education in Sokoto in particular, and the nation as a whole.

President Muhammadu Buhari is expected to grace the event.

A statement issued Monday in Sokoto by Tambuwal’s spokesman, Malam Imam Imam, said at the end of the two-day conference, practical guides will be outlined on how best to turn around the fortune of the education sector, and how best to address disparity issues of girl-child education.

“We appreciate the need to have all hands on deck as we proffer solution to challenges confronting the education sector in our state.

“This necessitated the need to organise a national conference on girl-child education to bring together experts from home and abroad, and development partners, to discuss and agree on the best approach to revamping the sector,” the statement added.

It said resolution from the conference will provide updated guideline for achieving set targets for female education in Nigeria.

It added that Sokoto State Government is giving female education the necessary attention it deserves.

“Few days ago, we announced the establishment of the Agency for Girl-Child Education which is expected to coordinate all issues related to female education from basic to tertiary levels in our state.

“We are working to ensure that officials of the new agency interface closely with local and international stakeholders to properly monitor progress of our girls in schools and what needs to be done to boost enrollment, retention and completion of all girls in schools in Sokoto State.”

Sokoto State Government establishes agency for girl-child education

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As part of renewed efforts to enhance access to education among females in Sokoto, the state government has announced the establishment of an agency for girl-child education.

Governor Aminu Tambuwal made this known during a meeting with officials from the Nigeria Office of UNICEF and the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DFID).

“The new agency will coordinate all issues related to female education from basic level to tertiary level. Officials of the agency will also interface with local and international stakeholders to properly monitor progress of our girls in schools and what needs to be done to boost enrolment, retention and completion of all girls in schools in Sokoto State.

“Importantly, the agency, in close collaboration with other agencies and government departments, will supervise and implement targeted policies aimed at assisting our female students to achieve their potentials,” the governor was quoted as saying via a statement issued Tuesday  by his spokesman, Imam Imam, in Sokoto.

According to him, huge investment has been made to ensure turn around in the fortunes of education in Sokoto.

The governor therefore appealed to development partners, especially the DFID, to expand their areas of intervention in the state.

On the school feeding programme which the government plans to introduce, Tambuwal said consultations are still ongoing, with a view to ensure that once introduced, it will be self-sustaining.

“We are currently studying the challenges faced by other states, notably Kano and Kaduna, when they introduced the school feeding in public schools. We are working with all our partners to introduce home-grown strategy in its implementation.

“As soon as it takes off, we plan to ensure it is sustained,” he added.

In her remarks, DFID’s Education Adviser, Laura Brannelly, commended Tambuwal for declaring state of emergency in education, saying so far, there’s a coordinated effort to tackle challenges in the sector in the state.

She equally urged the governor to expedite action on the proposed National Summit on Female Education which Sokoto government plans to organise early next year.

Others in the team were Roisin Whille, Teija Vallendigham and UNICEF’s Azuka Menkiti.

World Population Day: We Must Invest In Girl Child Education– El-Rufai

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Kaduna state governor, Malam Nasir el-Rufai yesterday called for massive investment in the education of teenage girls for sustainable development.

Governor el-Rufai in a statement he  personally signed and issued in Kaduna, to mark the 2016 World Population Day today, said increased investments should be made in health and education for the benefit of the teenagers who are living the transition from childhood to early adulthood.

According to the governor, his administration has ensured that issues concerning teenage girls are adequately captured in the State Development Plan  (SDP).

El-Rufai noted further that the present administration, under his leadership, “upholds the universal right of all persons, including teenage girls, to education, health and freedom from violence.”

The governor said, society must ensure that the teenage girls who are the voiceless, marginalised and the  vulnerable are heard and given the opportunity to be included in all  decision-making processes that affect them.

“Kaduna State Government appreciates the importance of population issues as a key factor in sustainable development. Therefore, we are delighted to mark the 2016 world population day. This is especially true of teenage girls who often face more challenges than their male counterparts. “World Population Day which has the theme: Investing in Teenage Girls.

We welcome the focus on this important demography. Teenagers are living the transition from childhood to early adulthood, and require that increased investments be made in health and education for the benefit of the young.

“Without education, in poor health, and with little or no control over her own body, her future can be derailed, and her potential may never be realised. The challenges and obstacles faced by a teenage girl tend to multiply if she is a member of an ethnic minority, lives in a village or is from a poor household. But when a teenage girl has the power, the means and the information to make her own decisions in life, she is more likely to realise her full potentials and become a positive force for change in her home, community and the Nation.

Credit: Leadership