By Aisha Gambo
The Minister of State for Education, Suwaiba Ahmad, has called for strengthened collaboration between the Ministry and relevant stakeholders to ensure the improvement of girls’ education in the country.
The minister made the call on Wednesday in Abuja during a one-day dissemination session for performance assessments and state level financing of education reports aimed at strengthening girls’ education in Nigeria.
The session was organised by the Federal Ministry of Education in collaboration with the System Strategy and Policy Lab (SSPL) and Malala Fund.
“I want to specially thank our donor partners for their support which is deeply valued and to our commissioners from the ten states present.
“This is your moment; you are closest to the communities and best placed to drive results; use the insights from these reports to scale what works, reform what does not and lead boldly.
“Your states can and must be champions of progress in the next chapter of Nigeria’s girls’ education story,” Ahmad said.
According to her, girl-child education is an essential pillar for the sustainable progress of any nation.
She, therefore, urged parents and other stakeholders to educate their girls in order to achieve thriving communities.
The minister explained that the knowledge products disseminated were tools for action, urging the participants to use them to craft policies, budgets, and partnerships that would drive change.
Earlier, the Chief Executive, Malala Fund, Nigeria, Ms Nabila Aguele, stated that the girl child’s right for education must be backed by policies and finance that would improve access and sustainability.
Aguele, who described the reports as tools for action to improve girls education, reiterated the fund’s commitment in ensuring that a concrete action for girls education was secured across the country.
Also, the Chief Executive and Founder, SSPL, Murtala Adogi, stated that the two strategic knowledge products highlighted key findings on girls education in 10 states, which included Kaduna, Jigawa, Borno, Akwa Ibom and Oyo among others.
He explained that there was the lack of dedicated budget lines for girls education in most of the states, adding, “expanding girls-only and community-based schools were recommended to enhance girls education.”
Adogi added that quality education should be prioritised as well as data be provided, while catering for girls re-entry to secondary schools and planning for sustainability.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the two strategic knowledge products are titled: ‘State of Girl-Child Education in 10 States of Nigeria’, and ‘An Analysis of State-Level Financing of Girl-Child Education in Nigeria’. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)