By Yakubu Salisu
A Group, Participatory Communication for Gender Development Initiative (PAGED) has launched a campaign on access for Girls-Child education with particular focus on rural communities.
The group said although much has been achieved within the urban area of the state, more needs to be done for large number of girls living around outskirt communities if the state.
The Program Director and Founder of the Non-profit group, Ummi Bukar stated this on Tuesday in Kano during a one day media summit that brought together dedicated media practitioners and members of Civil Societies to address the barriers to girls education in Kano State.
According to her, ” the situation of girls’ education in Kano is very interesting while you have a well to do number of educated girls in the state, another large percentage of them from the rural communities faces lots of challenges”.
“Some of them don’t have access to education and a few who does drop out so earlier due to so many reasons. A situation I describe as a paradox”.
Bukar lamented that the situation often leave these girls with hawking as an option which exposes them to unimaginable number of dangers.
She said the Initiative is out to address these gap by way of advocacy to the government, relevant agencies and other stakeholders and ensuring that girls who have obtained education become ambassadors of the campaign.
“We want to see every relevant stakeholder get involved in this are efforts for every girl especially in the rural communities attain some level of formal education.
We have also made plans to involve young girls with educational records to champion the campaign for girls child education so that they in turn can sensitize their peers and influence parents on the need to enroll their wards to obtain education”, she added.
Ummi Bukar tasked media practitioners in the state to lend their support in the advocacy for girls child education to better their lives and which in turn will lead to great societal development.
On his part, the Director, Civil Society Action Coalition on Education for All Dr. Auwalu Halilu, said the summit was promoted after a research carried out over a year ago on the wide gap recorded between girls in the city and rural communities in terms of education.
He noted that, the media no doubt has a great role to play in the advocacy leveraging on the power of the media expressing optimism that the campaign will achieve its set out objectives with such mechanisms.