The Kano state government has said 10 boarding schools closed down by the previous government in the state are set to be reopened to improve access for the girl-child education especially those from the rural areas.
The state girl-child coordinator, Ministry of Education, Hajia Amina Kassim, stated this while responding to questions from journalists during a legislative dialogue on Gender Responsive Education Budgeting(GREB) organised by Bridge Connect Africa Initiative(BCAI) with support from Malala fund.
Acknowledging the fact that cultural and socio-economical barriers contribute to lack of access for the girl-child education in the state, she said proximity tends to be another challenge where many of the girls who graduated from primary schools don’t transition to secondary education due to lack of access.
She maintained that the state government after declaring a state of emergency in the education sector has spent billions of naira for the boarding schools to be refurbished and renovated, noting that, “very soon they will be open for the girls to have access to education”.
Hajiya Kassim also noted that some of the boarding schools in operations such as WTC Kano, GGS Dala are hosting children from their catchment areas, as such when the others are open, they will operate similarly.
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The coordinator also noted that her office has gotten approval from the ministry to conduct a situation assessment of some communities where there is a high rate of school dropouts and out of school girls and ensure success stories are recorded, addressing each community’s challenge.
In his remarks, BCAI’s program coordinator for Bridging Access to Girls Education project, Abdulaziz Musa, said the objectives of the meeting was to discuss the current progress, challenges, release, and utilization in girls’ education funding with stakeholders, including government representatives, CSOs, and the media.
According to him, despite the reported progress in the sector, there are still many challenges, hence the need for collaborative efforts between NGOs and the government to ensure progress.
He said the meeting also discussed a gender-responsive education budgeting framework developed by BCAI which can be used as a policy tool to address challenges in the release and utilization of funds for girls’ education in the state.
