Sokoto establishes agency for girl-child education

As part of the renewed efforts to enhance access to education for females in Sokoto, the state government has announced the establishment of an agency for girl-child education.
Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal made this known during a meeting with officials from the Nigeria Office of the UNICEF and the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development.
Tambuwal, in a statement by his spokesman, Malam Imam Imam, said, “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 enrolment, 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.”
According to him, a huge investment had been made to ensure a turn-around in the fortunes of education in Sokoto.
The governor also appealed to development partners, especially DFID, to expand their areas of intervention in the state.
On the school feeding programme, which the government plans to introduce, Tambuwal said consultations were still ongoing with a view to ensuring that it would be self-sustaining when introduced.
“We are currently studying the challenges faced by other states, notably Kano and Kaduna, when they introduced 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.
Brannelly said so far there had been coordinated efforts to tackle challenges in the sector in the state.
She also urged the governor to expedite action on the proposed National Summit on Female Education, which the state had planned for early next year.