Nigeria: UNICEF Enrols 500,000 Girls in Schools

By Development Diaries
June 21, 2021

The United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) has announced the enrolment of more than 500,000 girls in primary schools in Katsina State, northwest Nigeria.

The UN agency said this was achieved through its Girl’s Education Project Three (GEP Three) which is part of efforts to reduce the number of out-of-school children in the state.

UNICEF Education Specialist, Kano Field Office, Muhammad Muntaqa, disclosed this at a one-day meeting with traditional institutions in the state.

He said that the organisation had surpassed its initial target of enroling 207,000 girls in focus schools in the state.

The project, funded by Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) of the United Kingdom (UK), is being implemented by UNICEF in six northern states of Katsina, Niger, Zamfara, Bauchi, Sokoto, and Kano.

The population of out-of-school children in Nigeria is over 10 million, according to a survey conducted by the United Nations International Children’s Emergency 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.

‘Our target was to ensure that we have 207,000 children but as of now, we have enrolled over 500,000 girls through GEP Three project in focus schools in Katsina State. UNICEF is giving priority to girl-child education, quality teaching and learning in the state’, said Muntaqa.

He added that 500 rural girls have been sponsored for a three-year National Certificate of Education (NCE) programme through the female teachers training scholarship to help strengthen the capacity of qualified teachers in the state.

Also, 210 headteachers have been trained on instructional leadership to provide support to teachers on technical instructions for delivering quality learning to children.

For his part, the Executive Chairman of the State’s Universal Education Board (SUBEB), Alhaji Lawal Buhari, represented by the board’s Secretary, Isa Muhammed Musa, applauded UNICEF for contributing to girl-child education in the state.

Buhari said through the programme the disparity in the ratio of enrolment of boys and girls in the state had been reduced.

Source: This Day