The United Nations’ Children Fund has said that it will ensure that one million out-of-school girls are enrolled in schools in six northern states by 2020, under its Girls Education Project 3.
The UNICEF identified the states as Zamfara, Bauchi, Katsina, Niger, Sokoto and Kano states.
The UNICEF GEP 3 Coordinator in Kano State, Richard Akanet, disclosed this at a briefing held on Wednesday. He added that 42,000 primary and Islamic school teachers had also be trained and mentored in child-friendly pedagogy under the programme, which spanned between 2012 and 2020.
Akanet noted that 1,900,000 boys had also benefitted from the programme through investments in “improvements to teacher quality and school governance.”
He said, “Since May 2012, the fund has been implementing the eight-year programme funded by the United Kingdom Department for International Development, which aims at contributing to improved social and economic opportunity for girls in northern Nigeria. The major focus is to get school-age girls to school, without neglecting boys’ enrollment.
“Our target is one million additional girls in school and our outputs are; increased enrolment and retention for girls in basic education, improved capacity for teachers to deliver effective learning for girls and improved governance to strengthen girls’ education.
“The expected results by 2020 are; approximately one million girls into school, primary and integrated Qur’anic schools; 1.6million girls reached by improved teaching and learning environments.
“Also, 15,300 head teachers have been trained in school effectiveness and curriculum management, and approximately 1.9million boys have benefited from GEP 3 interventions.”
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