From Umar Dankano, Yola
The African Center For Leadership Strategy and Development (Centre LSD) in collaboration with the MALALA Fund have trained one hundred and fifty(150) education stakeholders on how best to address the challenge of out of school children especially girls in Adamawa state.
Executive Director of the Centre(Centre LSD), Mr. Monday Osasah made the disclosure at a one day media engagement in Yola Friday stressing that the rationale behind this encounter was for attention seeking or constantly reminding governments and the public on the concerns of out of school children especially girl child.
Mr.Osasah said recent statistics available to the centre has shown that Nigeria has approximately 13Million out of school children and that 60% of this number is located at North Eastern part of the country.
He added that in a bid to change this narrative,the centre with support from MALALA Fund organization engaged stakeholders comprising of traditional leaders,Religious leaders,Parents Teachers Association as well as SBMC in three pilot local government ares in the state.
“The situation is exacerbated by the insurgency and the insecurity in the region as the baseline studies conducted by the centre which heralded the implementation of the C-CAGE project indicated that Adamawa state has 51 % ( 886,634) out of school children.
“In the 3 focal local government areas where the project is being implemented; Maiha LGA has the highest out of school girls with 66.7%,Followed by Song LGA with 63.3%and Numan LGA with 45% respectively.
“This implies that on the average over 50% of the girls of the age are not in school and the effect on the state and country is huge which can be problematic. Osasah points out .
According to him, the Centre has rehabilitated and took back to school 104 girls through sensitization by those trained members of the education committee with contact to their neighbors and relatives in their respective communities.
“This effort led to increased enrollment of girls back to school including those who dropped in the past due to pregnancy totaling 104.
“The creation of safe spaces also contributed a major source of motivation for the upsurge in the number of enrollments as safe space are platforms deliberately conceptualized to pave way for peer learning between in-school and out of school girls.
“Seven (7) peer learning club called Masu so ilimi (Advocates for education) were established and inaugurated with in the last six months with 254 girls membership in each club and are thought basic mathematics,English and skills training for societal development.” Osasah stressed
The centre commended the state government under the leadership of Governor Ahmadu Fintiri for the declaration of state of emergency on education sector and for payment of WAEC/NECO examination fees suggesting that more need to be done in the sector.”
