Sokoto to convene national conference on girl-child education

The Sokoto State Government has said it would convene a national stakeholders’ conference on girl-child education early 2017.
The conference, which would be organised in collaboration with UNICEF and the Sultan Foundation, would have presentations from experts from across the globe on how to address the issue of falling standard of education, especially female education in Sokoto in particular, and the nation as a whole.
President Muhammadu Buhari is expected to grace the event.
A statement issued on Monday in Sokoto by Governor Aminu Tambuwal’s spokesman, Malam Imam Imam, said at the end of the two-day conference, practical guides would be outlined on how best to turn around the fortune of the education sector, and how best to address disparity issues in girl-child education.
The statement said, “We appreciate the need to have all hands on deck as we proffer solution to challenges confronting the education sector in our state.
“This necessitated the need to organise a national conference on girl-child education to bring together experts from home and abroad, and development partners, to discuss and agree on the best approach to revamping the sector.”
It added that the resolution from the conference would provide updated guideline for achieving set targets for female education in Nigeria.
The governor stressed that Sokoto State Government had been giving female education the necessary attention it deserved.
“Few days ago, we announced the establishment of the Agency for Girl-Child Education, which is expected to coordinate all issues relating to female education from basic to tertiary levels in our state.
“We are working to ensure that officials of the new agency interface closely 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,” he said.