Poverty, early marriage, and cultural beliefs all pose challenges to girl child education in Nigeria. Despite government efforts to promote girls’ education, many families prioritize the education of their sons over that of their daughters. Girls are also discouraged from attending school due to a lack of access and safety concerns. Improving girl child education in Nigeria requires raising awareness of the benefits of education for girls and addressing these challenges through policy and community-based initiatives.
- Buhari Launches a Project to Educate Girls
PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari has officially launched the Adolescent Girls Initiative for Learning and Empowerment (AGILE) project as part of his administration’s commitment to promoting women’s and girls’ education and empowerment in Nigeria.
He launched the project in Abuja during the presidential launch of the High-Level Advisory Council (HLAC) to support projects and initiatives for women and girls.
HLAC’s mission is to effectively coordinate women’s empowerment-focused programs and initiatives in Nigeria, such as the Adolescent Girls Initiative for Learning and Empowerment (AGILE), the National Women’s Economic Empowerment (WEE) Policy Dialogue, and the Nigeria for Women Project Scale-Up (NFWP-SU).
HLAC is also intended to be a permanent presidential committee dedicated to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 5) by 2030. It is made up of representatives from the government, multi-sectoral, public, private, social, and technical sectors, as well as an inter ministerial working group.
Buhari expressed delight at the inauguration of HLAC and the subsequent launch of the AGILE project, which he said demonstrated his administration’s commitment to the advancement of women and girl-child empowerment in the country.
The Minister of Education, Malam Adamu Adamu, represented by the permanent secretary, Mr Andrew, David Adejoh, briefed the president on the project’s current status at the federal and state levels in his address.
The minister also revealed that the AGILE project will have an impact on the lives of 40 million Nigerians.
Adamu went on to say that the Federal Ministry of Education was eager to integrate the project into existing government programs in order to boost institutional growth, sustainability, and achievement of the government’s education goals.
He also thanked President Buhari for his unwavering support for the education sector, noting that the ministry’s goal is to promote progress toward Universal Basic Education (UBE), Sustainable Development Goal 4, and to ensure that Nigerian learners and youths develop themselves to be assets to the nation.
Mr Shubham Chaudri, the World Bank’s country director, congratulated the Federal Government on the launch of the AGILE project in his remarks.
He believed that investing in girl-child education and empowerment was the best investment.
Chaudri went on to say that educating and empowering women would help them discover and develop their potential as productive members of society.
The Adolescent Girls Initiative for Learning and Empowerment (AGILE) Project is a World Bank-supported five-year (2020-2025) project aimed at improving secondary school opportunities for adolescent girls in the current implementing states of Borno, Ekiti, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, and Plateau.
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