Sokoto state to establish agency for girl-child education

As part of renewed efforts to enhance access to education among females in Sokoto, the state government said it is establishing an agency specifically for girl-child education.
In a statement by the state Governors’ spokesman Mallam Imam Iman, Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal disclosed this during a meeting with officials from the Nigeria Office of UNICEF and the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DFID).

According to the statement, “The new agency will coordinate all issues related to female education from basic level to tertiary level. Officials of the agency will also interface with local and international stakeholders to properly monitor progress of our girls in schools and what needs to be done to boost enrollment, retention and completion of all girls in schools in Sokoto state.

“Importantly, the agency, in close collaboration with other agencies and government departments, will supervise and implement targeted policies aimed at assisting our female students to achieve their potentials,” it stated.
The statement further disclosed that huge investment has been made to ensure turn around in the fortunes of education in Sokoto, and appealed to development partners, especially the DFID, to expand their areas of intervention in the state.
On the school feeding programme which the government plans to introduce, Tambuwal said consultations are still ongoing, with a view to ensure that once introduced, it will be self-sustaining.

“We are currently studying the challenges faced by other states, notably Kano and Kaduna, when they introduced the school feeding in public schools. We are working with all our partners to introduce home-grown strategy in its implementation.
“As soon as it takes off, we plan to ensure it is sustained,” he added.
In her remarks, DFID’s Education Adviser, Laura Brannelly, commended Tambuwal for declaring state of emergency in education, saying so far, there’s a coordinated effort to tackle challenges in that sector in the state.

She equally urged the Governor to expedite action on the proposed Nationalv Summit on Female Education which Sokoto government plans to organize early next year.
Similarly, Governor Tambuwa in his commitment to girl child empowerment said the state is set to convene a stakeholder’s conference to improve girl child education in the state.
The conference he said would be held in collaboration with the UNICEF and the Sultan foundation in Sokoto, adding that it is aimed at addressing challenges confronting the state education sector, particularly for the girl child.
‘’A bill had been forwarded to the state House of Assembly to establish an education agency with a view to improving school enrollment and strengthen the state’s policy on education,’’ he said.

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