Gov. Atiku Bagudu of Kebbi, on Wednesday identified the lack of community involvement as one of the problems militating against the promotion of girl-child education in the state.
Bagudu made the observation when members of a Non-governmental Organisation, High-Level Women Advocates (HILWA) paid him a courtesy visit at the Government House in Birnin Kebbi.
The governor urged various women advocates’ associations to collaborate and interact with communities in the state in order to ensure that the girl-child benefit from their programme.
According to him, this collaboration can help in tapping the resources available for the promotion of girl-child education in the state.
“From the 1960s up to 1980s, our schools had some levels of comfort for our girl-children which encouraged them to go to school in those days.
“But now, girl-children may leave their comfortable houses and go to the schools where there are not such comforts.
“The HILWA can help to interact with communities in order to tap the resources we have. An example of such resources is the $100 US dollars World Bank assurance and N15 billion Qatar children programme, among others in the state,’’ Bagudu said.
He assured that the state government would support the mobilisation in order to change the girl-children narrative in the state.
The governor commended the women advocates for their efforts in promoting girl-child education in the state.
Earlier, Hajiya Hafsat Ahmad, the Chairperson of HILWA, said the aim of the NGO was to bridge the existing gap in girl-child education and to also influence government policies on the girl-child in the state.
“We aim also at influencing the government to engage more women and participate in the education sector as well as other decision making that affects girl-child education in the state,’’ Ahmad said.
The chairperson called on the state government and well-to-do individuals to support the organisation in its quest to ensure the enrolment of more girls into schools.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that HILWA is a NGO that works with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to assist the girl-child to possess relevant educational qualification.
Members of the NGO include retired civil servants, successful business women and technocrats from across the 21 local government areas of the state. (NAN)
