The United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) hopes to attract additional one million girls in the north to school under its Girl Education Project 3 (GEP) phase 3.
UNICEF’s Education Specialist Azuka Menkiti spoke at a two-day media dialogue on Girls for Girls (G4G) Initiative, organised by the Child Rights’ Information Bureau (CRIB) of the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture, in collaboration with the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) in Gusau, Zamfara State.
The G4G project is a component of the Girls’ Education Project (GEP) phase 3 being implemented in Bauchi, Katsina and Zamfara States.
According to her, about 15,303 girls have been enrolled under the project in the three states.
About 4,339 of the girls are from Zamfara, a state with the poorest enrolment rate.
She said UNICEF is targeting to retain girls who have been enrolled in schools in the north in class.
Menkiti said: “Within the Girls Education Project 3, the goal is to bring additional one million girls to school. We also hope to create an environment where girls will be supported to live above the poverty line for themselves and for their communities.
“This programme is to look for those who are in schools and ensure they remain there. In the last six months that this initiative started, a lot of changes have happened in schools.
“Our target is to have an increase in demand and support for girls’ education, increased retention for girls in schools, enhance self appreciation and self esteem for girls and increase transition of girls from lower primary to higher primary.
“The G4G addresses demand barriers to girls’ education by affecting attitudes and barriers that keep girls out of school. It assumes that increased demand for and understanding/value of basic education by parents, financial support to parents will have positive impact on girls’ enrolment.”
“Now we have 15,303 girls who have been enrolled in 813 G4G groups in 300 schools across 18 councils in three states. For us, it is about helping these girls to remain in school and complete at least primary education.”