Gov Bala reiterates commitment to girl-child education

•As Sultan lauds traditional, religious leaders for supporting girl-child education

Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed Abdulkadir has reiterated his commitment to ensure that the girl-child gets the best education.

The Governor was speaking when he addressed traditional and religious leaders during a conference on improving girls education in the North-East subregion held on Thursday at the Banquet Hall of the Government House organised by the Adolescents Girls Initiative for Learning and Empowerment (AGILE) Project, a World Bank assisted and the Federal Ministry of Education in collaboration with the Bauchi State Government.

Bala Mohammed said that his administration remains committed towards improving girls education in the state to achieve a society that has the interest of all.

The Governor said that since the assumption of office in 2019, his administration has constructed over 5,000 blocks of classrooms and renovated many others saying that traditional and religious leaders have been assisting the state in promoting school enrollment, retention and completion, particularly among girls.

He said that to further provide an ample learning opportunity, the administration has established the second chance schools and commended the Sultan of Sokoto, other traditional rulers and religious leaders for their support.

In his keynote address, the Sultan of Sokoto, Sa’ad Abubakar III stated, “We are here for a very serious business, business to discuss the issue of education of our daughters who are here seated with us. It is a meeting for the North-East AGILE project.

“A couple of days back, we had the one for the North-West geopolitical zone in Kaduna which I was there personally, today as it pleased Almighty Allah, we are here for the North-East zone and in the next few days we will be in Minna for the North Central zone.

“All we are doing is to discuss the very important issue of education of our girls. I want to make a point here, Islam is not against the education of the girl-child, there are a couple of reasons why the issue is not tackled here and in other states. The main thing is, how it is being done to educate people.

“The lack of funds to really educate everybody and to really understand what is education and educating the girl-child. I would like to thank the Amira of FOMWAN for a very elaborate presentation. I want to commend all those who left what they are doing to come for this programme.

“I want to thank all the traditional rulers from the North-East subregion for making it to the meeting. Let me stress here that the traditional institutions have a very significant role to play in the scheme of things. With the traditional rulers, we will not be where we are today.”

The Sultan commended the Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed Abdulkadir for hosting the meeting and for carrying everyone along as was said by the CAN Chairman.

According to him, “If religious leaders are playing astute roles in your administration, give them their dues. There should be understanding of each other irrespective of religion.

“Now we know our problem, it is the lack of education for our girls. When I was coming here, I saw some children hawking on the street and I was wondering, I asked some of them and they told me that they have morning and afternoon sessions at school.

“I think it is very important to talk to ourselves, not wanting education but how to get it and how to go about it. Giving the Girlchild education is the best thing to do because she will use it to better the society as she will take care of herself, her family and community irrespective of ethnoreligious sentiment.”

Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa represented by Bukar Bukarbe described the Conference as apt and in line with the Federal Government’s efforts to improve the education of the girl-child and commended Governor Bala Mohammed for his support.

National Coordinator, AGILE Project, Amina Buba Haruna said that the overall objective of the AGILE project is to create awareness of the significance of girls’ education in the North-East subregion ravaged by insurgency activities and commended the Bauchi State Government for the support.

In her welcome remarks, Commissioner for Education, Dr. Jamila Mohammed Dahiru, expressed joy to be part of the critical discussion surrounding the education of the girl-child who form a larger percentage of the most vulnerable segment of society.

Represented by the Permanent Secretary, Ali Babayo, the Commissioner stated, “Today, we are here to address one of the pressing issues of ensuring that every girl child is given access to quality education. This conference is a call to action and a reminder to all of us that we must work together to clear the barriers and empower girls to achieve their full potential.

“We are happy to be here together from a diverse group of experts, advocates and stakeholders to share our experiences and proffer solutions to our common problems. We are going to engage in thought-provoking discussions, and best practices and share innovative approaches to advance girl-child education.

“The conference showcases our commitment to creating a society where every girl child will have the opportunity to learn, grow and thrive.

“Let us work together to bring change in the lives of girl-child. Let us ensure that every girl-child has access to quality education and every opportunity that comes with it.”

ALSO READ FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE

Gov Bala leads delegation on working visit to Canada