As part of an effort to ensure the sustainability of the Girls'Education Project, GEP 3 Interventions in Kano State, the State Government in collaboration with the United Nations Children Fund, UNICEF have inaugurated champions to ensure girl child education transition and sustainability of the GEP 3 Interventions in the state.
The champions comprise 8 key stakeholder members which include representatives from the state ministry of education, State Universal Basic Education, SUBEB, Traditional leaders, Civil Society Organizations, HILWA among others.
Speaking during the inauguration, UNICEF Lead Resource Person, Dr. Hafsat Yakasai identified obstacles such as security (sexual harrasment), access to school, and attitudinal perception as factors affecting the transition of the girl child in the state.
Dr. Yakasai however admonished the champions not to relent in their effort to address the menace in order to keep the girls in school.
According to her, "Quite a number of problems were highlighted ranging from access to schools, security (sexual harrasment), attitudinal perception on girl child among others as obstacles against girl child education.
"A number of solutions were proffered. So the essence is to reawaken them to the challenges against the girl child education and how they could ensure the transition of the girls to Secondary education. As champions, they should promote increased community commitment to improving adolescent girls transition to Secondary education. In most cases, girls do not transit after primary education or do not survive to the expected basic level of education that is required for them.
"They are to also through advocacies and campaign activities further sensitize the communities and all stakeholders about the importance and the need to continue to uphold girls child education in high esteem.
"And these meetings specifically provided them with a Terms of Reference, ToR to serve as a guide for them to know exactly what to do, where they were advised to continue working with HILWA to serve as role models for the girl child education for the girls to feel motivated to also go to school.
"To also work with the Girls for Girls, G4G, already established in schools because their girls have a significant level of knowledge of some of the causes why their peers are not in school. So working hand in hand with them will go a long way in acquiring success for the champions in the course of their work. And so, this meeting is part of sustainability activities to ensure key stakeholders at community level take charge of the key responsibility function UNICEF/Foreign Commonwealth Development Office have been facilitating," Dr. Yakasai however stated.
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Earlier, the Chairman of the State Universal Basic Education Board, SUBEB, Danlami Hayyo called on the people to change their perception of the girl child education by ensuring their wards were enrolled in schools to acquire western education.
Hayyo represented by his Permanent Commissioner 1, Kabir Ahmad said the government have already commenced sustainability of the GEP 3 project with tremendous efforts to ensure the girls were enrolled in school.
"Take, for instance, the out-of-school children, those that left school due to one or two reasons, the govt through its policy on free and compulsory education has tried to address that. So you can see that some elements of the GEP 3 project, has been infused in so many govt activities," Hayyo however stated.
