{"id":8707,"date":"2013-08-20T18:40:14","date_gmt":"2013-08-20T18:40:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/disnaija.com\/nigerian-newspapers\/journalists-experts-brainstorm-on-girl-child-education\/"},"modified":"2013-08-20T18:40:14","modified_gmt":"2013-08-20T18:40:14","slug":"journalists-experts-brainstorm-on-girl-child-education","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/disnaija.com\/journalists-experts-brainstorm-on-girl-child-education\/","title":{"rendered":"Journalists, experts brainstorm on girl-child education"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\u2018Nigeria could\u2019ve been a better place had more women been educated\u2019<\/p>\n

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From PAUL ORUDE,\u00a0<\/strong>Bauchi<\/strong><\/p>\n

R<\/strong>ecently, broadcast and print media journalists drawn from UNICEF C and D Field offices converged at the Dogon Koli Hotel, Minna, Niger State, for a one-day brainstorming workshop on the prospects and challenges of the girl-child education in five Northern states, namely Bauchi, Katsina, Niger, Sokoto and Zamfara.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The workshop, with the theme, \u201cPromoting Girls Education Project in Partnership with the Media,\u201d was organised by the Kaduna State Media Corporation (KSMC) and and drew participants from the five states implementing Girls\u2019 Education Project (GEP) Phase 1. It was aimed at orientating journalists on GEP 3 role in promoting access, retention, completion and quality learning among girls.<\/p>\n

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Importance Of Girl-Child Education<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Managing Director of KSMC, Mrs. Tamani Yusuf, while harping on the importance of girl-child education noted that, worldwide, 76 million more boys than girls are enrolled in primary and secondary schools. While urging for a change she noted that educational achievements of women could have big effect on the family and the nation at large.<\/p>\n

\u201cFifty years ago, my parents knew the importance of education and sent me to school,\u201d she said. \u201cMany of my mates did not have the opportunity of going to school. The situation is pathetic especially in the north. Nigeria could have been a better place had our women been educated years back because when you educate a woman, you educate a nation. We all have a responsibility to ensure that every girl-child is educated. We need to promote girl-child education at all levels, especially in the North.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rabiu Musa, Communication Officer, Media and External Relations, UNICEF, Kaduna, added that Nigeria has the burden of having the largest number of children, particularly girls,\u00a0 that are out of school in the world.<\/p>\n

Giving an overview of GEP 3, UNICEF Education Officer, Tukur Yabo, revealed that the project, funded by Department for International Development, (DFID) in collaboration with UNICEF and the Federal Ministry of Education, is aimed at making 1,150,000 girls access basic education in the five implementing states in the next eight years.<\/p>\n

He added that GEP 3, which would run from May 2012 to April 2020, is aimed at accelerating the achievements recorded in the GEP 1 and 2, which started in 2005 and ended in April 2012. According to him, the goal of GEP 1 is to eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education and, at all levels of education, not later than 2015.<\/p>\n

The purpose of GEP 1, which operated from 2005 to 2008, he noted, was to achieve improved quality of life for girls in Nigeria through collaborative, inter-sectoral approach to their education. GEP 1 was carried out in Bauchi, Borno, Jigawa, Katsina, Niger, Sokoto states.<\/p>\n

On GEP 2, which ran from 2008 to 2012, \u201cits purpose was to improve girls\u2019 access, attendance, retention and relevant learning outcomes at primary and junior secondary levels.\u201d Some of the strategies that worked in GEP 1 and 2 include the school-based management board\/community mobilisation and management, Female Teacher-Trainer Scholarship Scheme (FTTSS), increase of state budget allocations for girls\u2019 education, among others.<\/p>\n

Under GEP 2, enrolment increased by 488,000. For instance, primary school enrolment increased from 3,224,597 (1,266,008 female) in 2009\/2010 to 3,524,531 (1,359,371 female) in 2010\/2011. This gives an increase of 199,934 children in one year (93,363 female). Three thousand and one hundred and eighty nine teachers also benefited from FTTSS.<\/p>\n

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Appeal For Greater Cooperation<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yabo added that during the implementation of GEP 1 and 2 in the four northern states of Bauchi, Katsina, Niger and Sokoto, 3,535 schools received school grants ranging from N150, 000 to N200, 000 through the Girls Education Project and state government funding.<\/p>\n

\u201cIntegrated Qur\u2019anic\/Tsangaya Education (IQTE) centres have been established with more girls than boys attending in some schools,\u201d he revealed. \u201c2,222 schools were supported under GEP2 in partnership with state governments and other partners.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yabo, however, expressed concern that most states have contributed less that 100 per cent of their counterpart funds to GEP. He therefore appealed for greater cooperation of implementing states in order to meet the aims and objectives.<\/p>\n

He said the quality of educational provision continued to be a problem. Other challenges in GEP 1 and 2 were in the areas of head teacher selection and management, qualified teachers and teaching methodologies, quality assurance at LGEA level, quality of learning environment and performance at colleges of education. The aim of GEP 3 therefore, he noted, was to improve access, retention and quality of girls\u2019 education, adding that the project would focus on system change and service delivery especially in the new states.<\/p>\n

\u201cGEP 3 is expected to improve social and economic opportunities of girls, which the ministries of education, Universal Basic Education, colleges of education and Agencies for Mass Education are determined to achieve in the benefitting states.\u201d On the role of the media in ensuring the success of GEP 3, Yusuf said that journalists have responsibility to speak out for the girl-child.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe media are agents of change in our communities, duty bearers and advocates for the cause of disadvantaged and vulnerable children, voice of the voiceless agenda setters,\u201d Yusuf said. After hours of brainstorming, the 38 participants agreed that more aggressive media mobilization, similar to the campaigns against HIV\/AIDS, should be embarked upon to promote GEP 3.<\/p>\n

Participants called on governments in the implementing states to ensure complete ownership of GEP 3 and to put mechanisms in place for its sustainability. The state governments were also urged to invest more in the training and re-training of teachers. The participants also resolved to collaborate with state education MDAs to ensure the achievement of the aim of girls\u2019 enrolment campaign drive in primary schools for the 2013\/2014 academic session as well as the enrolment of rural female candidates into NCE programmes in COEs FTTSS, among others.<\/p>\n

At the end of the meeting, all participating journalists were more informed about GEP 3 and expressed their readiness to be in the vanguard of promoting girl child education in the course of discharging of their statutory responsibilities.<\/p>\n

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