Progress in Girls enrolment, retention and completion has to be twice as rapid as it is now, to realize the Sustainable Development Agenda 2030 – Tallen
In a press statement which was Signed by Mr Olujimi Oyetomi, Director, Press & Public Relations to the ministry, the
Honourable Minister of Women Affairs, Dame Pauline K Tallen OFR, KSG has remarked that progress in girls enrolment, retention and completion of schooling will have to be twice as rapid as it is now, if Nigeria is to realize the Sustainable Development Agenda 2030 for inclusive and equitable quality education.
Speaking at the joint Ministerial Press Briefing with to mark the International Day of the Girl-Child held at the National Centre for Women Development y on Friday, 8th October, 2021, Tallen posited that education is a fundamental right of every child, boy or girl as articulated in the National Policy on Education.
Calling on all school administrators, the Honourable Minister said,
“All school administrators of both public and private schools have to desist from the old practice of shaming, ridiculing or expelling a girl-child from school, because she was raped and subsequently became pregnant. It is no longer acceptable. The girl is always a victim, while the male culprit is left off the hook. But fair is fair.”
While chronicling steps taken by the Ministry to promote the development of the Girl-Child, the Minister included the followings:
” i. The campaign and call to action to support Girl Child Education was launched;
ii. ICT programme for the girl child was put in place;
iii. We campaigned against the drop out of pregnant young girls from schools;
iv. We established a menstrual pad bank in the Ministry;
v. We proposed the setting up of Girl Child Parliament;
vi. We conduct advocacy visits to various States to solicit for the support of Governors, Governor’s Wives, State Legislators, Traditional Leaders, Religious Leaders etc to push for the domestication of the Child’s Rights Act 2003 and VAPP Act 2015;
vii. We organized zonal sensitization seminars in 18 States of the Federation on the provisions of the Child Rights Act, 2003, Ending Violence Against Children (VAC) and promoting Girl-Child Education to create continuous awareness among various stakeholders across the Federation;
viii. We flagged off the distribution of educational materials and Menstrual Hygiene Kits to students at Government Science Secondary School, Garki at the 2020 International Day of the Girl Child on 11th October, 2020 among others.Tallen added that “In our quest to further spotlight the issues of the girl-child on the front burner of National Development, we have created a Girl-Child Division in the Child Development Department of the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs; we are confident that this will provide a stronger platform to implement the issues of girls in all sectors as provided for in the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGS) and their targets, as well as provide a platform for advocacy on the holistic drive in their empowerment to end all forms of discrimination against the girl child.”
The Honourable Minister further remarked that for the girl-child in Nigeria not to be left behind in the digital revolution even with the continued scourge of COVID-19 Pandemic, there is the need for a change in scientific orientation, which must be able to continually adapt to changes in knowledge, technology and addressing societal challenges.
Speaking earlier, the Honourable Minister of State Education, Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba challenged everyone to work together to improve the number of girls that have access to the use of internet stating that ‘’Science, Engineering, Technology and Mathematics (STEM) remains the best approach to what is needed to bring the girls to speed in order to ensure equitable and quality education.”
The UNICEF Country representative, Mr. Peter Hawkins disclosed that United Nations has set aside the International Day of the Girl-Child to protect the rights of the girl-child and address the unique challenges they face.
He stated further that the gender digital divide is true and have created exclusive gap across geographies and generations that needs to be addressed through the digital revolution.
While asking all stakeholders to seize the momentum to drive actions and accountability to bridge the digital divide. Mr. Hawkins said of the 65million young Nigerians, 32.5% are girls.
”Nigeria has one of the largest young populations in the world presenting extraordinary opportunities for development and growth but only if their rights are protected and they have access to the digital devices.
“He said UNICEF is working to empower over 20 million adolescents which will have access to the digital world theeerough the creation of ICT camps across the nation and majority will be girls”.
Earlier, the Honourable Minister of Women Affairs and Honourable Minister of State for Education had breakfast with the Girl-children from Adamawa, F.C.T, Kebbi, Katsina, Borno, Kano, Bauchi, Zamfara, Yobe and Sokoto State at National Centre for Women Development from 8:00am to 9:00am where Mariam Samani emerged the President, International Day of the Girl-Child, 2021.
Other activities lined up to commemorate the International Day of the Girl-Child, include:
Girls Take over Governance for 30minutes of Offices of the Honorable Ministers of Federal Ministry of Women Affairs, Education, Finance and Communication and Digital Economy upcoming Monday, 11th October, 2021 from 9:00am – 10:00am; National Dialogue on the International Day of the Girl-Child which will hold at the Main Auditorium, National Centre for Women Development by 10am to 2:00pm of Monday, 11th October, 2021 and the Launch of the State of the Nigerian Girl Child Report and Awareness on Key Findings on Ending Child Marriage at
Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja on Thursday, 14th October, 2021 at 9:00am
