Austin Ajayi, Yola.
A coalition of five Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) under the auspices of the Education Champion Network (ECN) say Adamawa state still ranked low in girl child education and the standard of education is falling.
Thereby calling on the state government to put in more concerted action to stop the drifting standard of education.
The coalition which include ACE Charity, African Centre for Leadership, Strategy and Development (Center LSD), Legal Defense for Assistant Project (LEDAP), The Inclusion Project (TIP) and Sustainable Collective Advocacy for Africa Development Initiative (SCAAD Initiative) with support from the Malala Fund.
The group a communique presented by at a press conference in Yola Wednesday, spokesperson of the group, Hassana Shuaibu said the communique will serve as the CSOs manifesto for political candidates ahead of the 2023 general elections in Adamawa State.
The Education Champions Network (ECN) is a global network of Champions advocating for girl child education and envisions a situation in which all Nigeria women and girls, particularly the most vulnerable have access to 12 years of free, safe, quality education.
“The Education manifesto was developed by Civil society organizations in Adamawa State under the Election Education Advocacy project being implemented by Ace Charity, Center LSD, the Inclusion Project, SCAAD Initiative, and LEDAP to ensure political candidates prioritize education in the manifestos and even after being elected into offices”.
According to coalition, “the project is also empowering the traditional and religious leaders, media, school girls, and the general public to hold the leaders accountable and ensure that political candidate include specific education in their agenda”.
Shuaibu said ” records have shown that not only is the standard of education falling but also the rate of out-of-school children particularly the girl child does not give hope for future of the girls and the people of Adamawa state”.
Adding that with about 20 million out-of-school children in Nigeria, 60% of this figure is from the Northeastern part the country inclusive of Adamawa state.
” In Adamawa State, 30.2% of prima school-age children are not enrolled in any school. 32.7% of girls of primary school age are out of school compared to 27.7% of boys” she said.
Stressing that “the number of out-of-school children for junior and secondary school-age children is even higher across both genders but more so for girls”.
The coalition further noted that this record confirmed by the national manifesto of ECN in Nigeria states that the number of out-of-school children of primary school age in Nigeria increased by 50 percent from 6.4 million, while the out-of-school rate has remained constant at 28 percent since 2010.
Nigeria is among the top three countries alongside India and Pakistan with the most children and youth excluded from education, and the vast majority of these children are girls.
“The implication shows that the inability of the country to harvest the benefits of basic education to Nigeria’s economy. It is estimated that GDP growth of up to $243 billion will be gained if every girl completes a full 12-year cycle of education in Nigeria”.
The education champion noted that as a result of the challenge, Nigeria is deep-seated in multifarious conflicts and violence covering all the geopolitical zones of the country be it Boko Haram, banditry, farmer-herded clashes, and other criminal elements.
“The advent of these crises has taken a toll on the country’s economy, the people, and especially women and girls”.
While advocating for concerted efforts by all concerned, the ECN believes strongly that equitable access to quality education, particularly for girls, can reduce conflict and insecurity across the country by up to 37 percent.
