NIGERIA. Kano State: The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO) have provided school supplies and money to encourage the enrolling of female children in Nigeria’s Girls Education Project Phase 3 (GEP3).
The gesture, which is a UNICEF project and supported by FCDO, is directed at some selected primary and integrated Qur’anic schools across the country, according to Alhaji Ibrahim Adamu, chairman of the Khadija Memorial School-Based Management Committee (SBMC).
Adamu further stated that the programme gives a platform for the committee’s members to develop their capacity, and he urged for its long-term viability.
Zakari Sani, the headmaster of one of the selected schools in Kano state, Khadija Memorial Primary and Islamiya School, said the program has gone a long way in improving the enrolment of female students.
“Most especially the less privileged and the orphans which before now could not afford to acquire education due to payment of school fees among others,” Sani said.
“The school was able to purchase uniforms and learning equipment for the school. Also, build toilets, replace the school damaged doors, and construct drainage which has gone a long way in increasing the security architecture of the school and improving the number of girl children in the school,” he added
Sani, on the other hand, urged the government at all levels to support the initiative by providing necessary provisions to ensure that the country’s education is enhanced.
Danbatta in Kano State is one of the states that has benefited from the program and has had great success in ensuring that girls in the community receive a quality education.
Salma Audi, one of the parents at the Khadija Memorial School, commented on the increase in girl child enrolment, saying that the increase was due to UNICEF covering the school expenses of the children through the GEP3 Project.
As a result, Audi has called for additional involvement to help increase the number of girls enrolled in school in the country.
Even though primary education is officially free and compulsory, about 10.5 million of the country’s children aged 5-14 years are not in school.
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