By Sunday Elijah
Africa Media Development Foundation (AMDF) has tasked media organisations in Nigeria to provide increased space for promoting girls’ education in the country, saying the gains associated with educating the girl-child cannot be quantified.
Executive Director of AMDF, Iliya Kure, made the call at a Media Executives Breakfast meeting hosted by the organisation in Kaduna, northern Nigeria.
The meeting was aimed at sensitizing participants on the recently pronounced free and compulsory education for girls’ programme of Kaduna State Government, as well as to galvanise Support for AMDF’s Girls Education Project, aimed at ‘Advocating for Policy formulation on the Free and compulsory Education for Girls in Kaduna State’.
Kaduna state government in September 2018 declared a free and compulsory education Programme for girls in public secondary schools across the state, but lacks policy document and implementation framework to ensure its effective implementation and sustainability.
Mr. Kure therefore, enjoined the media chiefs to commission their producers, presenters and reporters to leverage on existing education programmes, news segments, as well as other current affairs programmes to promote girls’ education.
Also speaking, the Project Manager, Benjamin Maigari says the project will entail that girls in Kaduna state are not only enrolled in schools, but they are retained unto completion.
According to him, “the 2016-2020 Kaduna State Development Plan revealed an estimated 37% of students drop-out by year 6 of primary school, and only 23% of all female students’ complete their secondary school.
“But with a framework signed and implemented, the Kaduna State Ministry of Education predicts that the completion rate of female students in public secondary schools will increase from the current 23% to 53% and impact more than 224,000 girls in secondary schools across the state,” he said.
He said, the Girls Education Project of AMDF is currently supporting Kaduna State Ministry of Education to close the gender gap in education in the State.
Responding, the Acting General Manager, Liberty Radio and Television Mal. Abdulkadir Lere decried the non-existence of a policy to back the free education programme for girls in Kaduna, without which he said the education of girls is at stake.
Lere, who described the project as a laudable initiative pledged the station’s commitment to support AMDF through news and programmes, to ensure that girls in the state have access to education.
Laso Speaking, Programmes Manager of Freedom Radio, Mal. Zakari Aminu acknowledged the contributions of AMDF especially in building the capacity of journalists in Kaduna and lauded the effort of the organization in promoting girls’ education
He pledged his Station’s readiness to support the success of the project.
The project: “Advocating for Policy Formulation and Adoption of Free and Compulsory Education for Girls in Public Secondary Schools in Kaduna State” is being implemented by the Africa Media Development Foundation, funding is provided by Rise Up; a program of the Public Health Institute, through funding from the Cummins Foundation between June 2019 and May 2020.
