Vice President, Kashim Shettima has emphasised the critical importance of prioritising girl child education in Nigeria, calling for a concerted, multisectoral approach to address gender-based barriers to quality education
According to him, government at all levels, traditional rulers, religious leaders, civil society organisations (CSOs), and partners in the donor community must come together “with a singular focus: ensuring that every Nigerian child, regardless of gender or geography, receives quality education.”
The Vice President, said this on Thursday when he declared open the International Conference on Girl Child Education in Nigeria, held at the Banquet Hall of Presidential Villa, Abuja, he noted that the dignity of the girl child defines every civilisation.
Represented at the event by Deputy Chief of Staff to the President (Office of the Vice President), Senator Ibrahim Hadejia, the VP said: “Whatever reforms we adopt to build a safe space for educating the girl child must be championed from within our communities.
VP Shettima implored government’s partners in the donor community, including the World Bank, the African Development Bank, and other multilateral institutions, to make a generational difference.
Outlining statistics on out-of-school children in Nigeria, including the latest Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS), the VP warned that “each child abandoned to the streets is a liability that the nation will one day pay for.
The Director General of the Nigerian Governors forum said the commemoration of the international day for the girl child is A clarion call to take decisive action against factors hindering access to girl child education, including early marriage, poverty, gender based violence and other forms of discrimination.
He said the NGF commits to work closely with ministries, development partners and other stakeholders to streghten national girl child enrolment drive.
