Bauchi launches gender in education policy

Bauchi State Ministry of Education, through the Adolescent Girls Initiative for Learning and Empowerment (AGILE), in collaboration with Young Leaders Network (YLN), has launched the Bauchi State Gender in Education Policy (2026–2030) and guidelines for school re-entry of married and pregnant adolescent girls.

Speaking at the event, Commissioner for Education, Abdulkadir Ibrahim, described the initiative as a milestone in the efforts to build an inclusive education system that gives every child, regardless of gender, background or disability, equal opportunities to access, remain in and complete quality education.

He said the policy and implementation guidelines demonstrated the government’s commitment to addressing longstanding barriers preventing children, particularly girls, from achieving their educational aspirations.

Ibrahim identified poverty, early marriage, adolescent pregnancy, insecurity, inadequate school facilities and discriminatory practices as major challenges affecting school enrolment, retention and completion.

He stressed that the success of the policy would depend on effective implementation, sustained investment and collective responsibility, rather than its approval alone.

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The commissioner said the ministry would strengthen dissemination and implementation of the policy in all local government areas, ensuring that education authorities, school administrators, teachers and communities understood their responsibilities.

He added that the government would ensure that every public junior and senior secondary schools adopted and publicised the School Re-entry Guidelines by 2027, alongside appropriate counselling, referral and protection mechanisms.

Ibrahim emphasised that no girl should be denied the opportunity to continue her education solely because she was married, pregnant or a young mother.

On funding, he said the policy targeted allocating at least two percent of the state’s education budget to gender-responsive education in 2026, with a gradual increase to five percent by 2030.

He said the ministry would work with relevant government institutions to fulfil the commitment and strengthen accountability in the use of education resources.

He added that the ministry would strengthen coordination, monitoring and reporting under the implementation framework, noting that progress would be measured by improvements in school participation, learner safety, retention, re-entry and completion, rather than activities conducted alone.