From:Segun Babatunde in Bauchi
The United Nations Children Fund( UNICEF) has said that under the Girls Education Programme, phase three, the enrollment of girls in school in Bauchi state has increased to 1,130, 465 in the year 2020.
UNICEF said that it is believed that at the end of 2020, the Girls Education Program (GEP 3) have succeeded in getting approximately 214,758 additional girls into school in Bauchi State, .
Dr Zigeh Icunoamlak, the Officer in Charge (OIC) of UNICEF Nigeria, Bauchi Field Office, made the disclosure yesterday in a goodwill message delivered at One-day High-Level Advocacy/ Endorsement Meeting with Stakeholders and the Emirate Councils on the Establishment of Local Accountability Systems for the Sustainability of GEP 3 in Bauchi State held at the Emir’s Palace, Bauchi.
He said that with the development, Girls enrolment has reached 1,130,465 (965,890 Primary; 164,575 IQS) through GEP3 while 4,581 girls and 4,540 boys are participating in the G4G/HeForShe activities across six LGAs, empowering them to use their platforms to enhance peer support and create demand for education in their various communities.
According to him, ” 11,520 teachers and IQS facilitators have core knowledge and competencies to use proven teaching methodologies to deliver appropriate quality education through GEP 3 while 11,270 (1,727 females) Principals, Headteachers have enhanced capacity on school record keeping and have provided valid school data through which eight Annual School Census has been conducted, disseminated and published from 2012 – 2020″
” 12 focus LGAs have developed Local Education Sector Operational Plan to align with the state Education Sector Plan while improved planning at the LGEA level is expected to contribute to achieving equitable distribution of resources based on evidence”
” 1,040 SBMCs and CBMCs have been trained on their roles and responsibilities and they developed school improvement of 11,018 (3,258 females), members improved skills on teamwork, community mobilization and how to prioritise the interest of the girl child in schools” he said
He explained that based on the identified barriers and bottlenecks to girl’s education, GEP3 Theory of Change, and interventions were planned to reduce these barriers and to deliver results under three outputs: Increased enrolment and retention for girls in basic education, Improved capacity of teachers to deliver effective learning for girls and improved governance to strengthen girls’ education.
The UNICEF Nigeria OIC said that with the Project coming to an end on 30 June 2021, it has become imperative to identify the lessons learnt and good practices from the GEP3 to ensure the gains are not lost, pointing out that the reason for the gathering was to get the commitment and endorsement of the Emirate Council with stakeholders on the establishment of local accountability systems for the sustainability of GEP 3 in Bauchi State.
“I assure you that UNICEF is committed to sustaining support to Nigerian government at the federal and state levels to ensure quality education and development of children.I must commend everyone for their support to education and UNICEF will continuing to partner with the government, partners and all stakeholders to ensure that all school-aged children in Nigeria access their right to quality education” he added
In his remarks, the Emir of Bauchi, Dr Rilwanu Suleiman Adamu commended UNICEF and other partners for always supporting the state in the area of health care and education development and growth, saying that girl child education is very important to the development of the society because according to him, a well-educated girl child is a pride to the society.
The Emir expressed optimism that the GEP3 program will change the narrative of girl child education in the state, assuring that the traditional institutions in the state are ever ready to support any program that brings a positive impact on the lives of people of the state because according to him, the educational gap must be bridged.
Our Correspondent reports that GEP3 is an eight -year project (2012–2020) that seeks to ensure that more girls complete basic education and acquire skills for life and livelihood in five northern Nigerian states of Katsina, Sokoto, Bauchi, Niger and Zamfara and it is managed by UNICEF, in partnership with federal and state governments, and is funded by FCDO. The project aims to improve access, retention and learning outcomes for girls. END