CSOs, CITAD seek girls’ day schools in Yobe

Civil Society Organisations in Yobe state in collaboration with the Centre for Information Technology and Development have called on Yobe state government to establish government girls’ day secondary schools in major cities of the state.
The call was made yesterday at a town hall meeting held at NEYIF Damaturu, with participants drawn from CSOs and the media across the state.
The meeting noted with concern the deteriorating school enrolment of the girl child in some parts of the state and advocated for the setting up of girls’ secondary schools to shore up their education.
“If you look at it critically, at the primary and junior secondary school levels, the enrolment of the girl child is higher than their male counterpart, but if you go to the senior classes and tertiary institutions, their number reduces drastically.
“Girl child school enrolment at the higher level is poor in this region, compared to their male counterpart.
The girls are either being given out in marriage or engaged into one local trade or the other by their parent,” the statement read in part.
Blueprint also gathered that the challenges are not unconnected with the insurgency experienced in the North east whereby parents are scared of taking their daughters to boarding schools.
Earlier in his welcome address, the CITAD Programme Officer, Isa Garba, called on the participants to work towards lobbying government to encourage the girl child enrolment, stressing that the population is on the increase.
Our correspondent learnt that the Yobe state government has allocated N400 million for the establishment of two government girls day secondary schools in its 2018 budget but is yet to see the light of the day.

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