The African Centre for Leadership, Strategy and Development (CentreLSD) says it is ready to begin a town hall meeting with community leaders and education stakeholders in Adamawa State, northeast Nigeria.

CentreLSD, in partnership with Malala Fund, says it will commence the meeting in Maiha, Numan and Song areas of the state on 20 October.

The aim of the meeting is to address the plight of the girl child in the northeastern part of Nigeria, especially in the light of the Covid-19 pandemic ravaging the world.

Participants expected at the meeting include community/religious leaders, members of the school-based management committee, local government heads, teachers, and parents.

The population of out-of-school children in the country is 13.2 million, the highest in the world, according to a survey conducted by the United Nations International Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

Statistics from the UN agency show that 69 percent of these children are in Nigeria’s northern region, and 60 percent of them are girls.

‘At the town hall meeting, the conversation shall not only dwell on the diagnosis of the problem of out of school children, particularly the girl child, but shall come up with strategies that will create the enabling environment for out-of-school girls to enroll back to school, get retained and complete their secondary education in the state and the northeast in general’, the organisation said in a statement.

Gulmakai Champion for Malala Fund, Frances Igwilo, enjoined parents and members of the public to join the campaign for girl child education.

Source: CentreLSD

Photo source: DFID