From Fred Ezeh, Abuja
Minister of State for Education, Yusuf Tanko Sununu, has assured girl-children in Nigeria that the government is aware of the challenges the face, and are working assiduously to make life better for them.
The Minister said that discrimination, violence, limited access to education, health care, and unequal opportunities, have been identified as some of factors that marred their path to fulfilment of their goals in life.
Speaking at an event in Abuja, on Wednesday, to commemorate the 2023 International Day for Girl Child with the theme:” Invest in Girls’ Rights: Our Leadership and Well Being”, the Minister said it’s essential to acknowledge that girls have continually displayed resilience, determination, and the capacity to overcome adversity.
He said: “Government has undertaken significant policy initiatives aimed at addressing the specific challenges faced by the girl child. One noteworthy achievement is the substantial increase in girl-child enrolment and retention in schools, with initiatives like the Adolescent Girls Initiative for Learning and Empowerment (AGILE) which has reached out to millions of girls across the country, providing them with education and life skills.”
He said that Nigeria is expanding the frontiers of girls’ education with more state signing on to participate in the AGILE project being anchored on the appreciable achievements of the AGILE project that’s being supported by a World Bank $500 million loan.
“The achievements include reaching over three million beneficiaries across seven states; initiating skills and digital literacy training for 6,000 girls; 90,298 girls have received financial incentives (scholarships) to help them stay in school, and 199,921 girls have received scholarships in the first seven implementing states.
“In the same vein, the Accelerating Nutrition Results in Nigeria Project (ANRiN), in collaboration with the World Bank, is improving access to quality nutrition services for pregnant and lactating women, adolescent girls, and young children in 12 states of Nigeria.
“The initiatives, along with others including the Safe School Initiative, are testament to our commitment to ensuring that every girl child in Nigeria has the opportunity to fulfill her potential, receive quality education, and live a healthy life. We believe that investing in our girls is not just a matter of social justice but a strategic imperative for our nation’s progress and development.”
In his welcome address, the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Education, Andrew Adejo, charged stakeholders for support in making the girls rights practicable.
Adejo said that most attacks were usually targeted at the girl-child, while calling for measures to see to it that their rights were protected.
Education Adviser, FCDO, Abuja Office, Mikailu Ibrahim, in his remarks, reiterated the commitment of United Kingdom on continued partnership in pushing for the girls’ rights.
Ibrahim called on government to expand funding for education while also ensuring that the monies allocated to education were judiciously utilized.
He added that the country must focus on foundational learning as well as ensuring that learning environment were safe and protected.
He said the government must take these issues as priorities to ensure Nigerian children go to school and complete their education.
In the same vein, Dr. Quentin Wodon, the Director, UNESCO Institute for Capacity Building in Nigeria (UNESCO-IICBA), said investment in girls education was the best investment any society could take in.
Wodon canvassed for the recruitment of more women as teachers, principals and mentors in the school system to be able to ensure the rights of the girls child were attained.
He added that gender in Africa was a top priority of UNESCO and the organisation would continue to promote such.
Representative of the World Bank, Aisha Garba, said her organisation has continued to partner with the government of Nigeria to attain the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and also ensure that millions of Nigerian children get the resources and learning aids for their education.
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