1.5m Girls Return To School In North – UNICEF

In response to the low level of participation of girls in the school system, the Federal Ministry of Education, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) of the UK, and United Nations Children Emergency Fund (UNICEF) have implemented the Girls’ Education Programme Phase 3 (GEP3) across six northern Nigerian states of Katsina, Kano, Niger, Sokoto, Zamfara and Bauchi between 2012 and 2022.

In a statement that was issued by communication assistant at UNICEF,  Nchekwube Nwosu-Igbo said the partners reported that the programme’s investment of $109 million yielded positive results in enrolling an additional 1.5 million girls into school, far exceeding the project’s target. That was the outcome of the event, as disclosed on Thursday,

The statement added that the attendance rate of girls in primary schools in the six states improved from 43% to 70%, while gender parity improved from 0.73 to 0.97.

It said GEP3 worked to improve the quality of education for all children and helped girls gain better access to education and economic opportunities, breaking the cycle of poverty and disadvantage.

“In our commitment to drastically reduce the number of Out of School Children, Nigeria appreciates the scaling of evidence-based solutions in tackling  this menace as provided through the GEP3. As we continue on this path, we would leverage on the success of GEP3 to plan better, budget better, and make better decisions in putting more Girl- Child in school,” said Honourable Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu.

“GEP3 has not only been successful in getting more girls into formal and non-formal schools, but it has also improved learning outcomes. GEP3 has raised the profile of educated girls, created new positive social norms in many communities and enabled a transformational shift in mindsets about the importance of girls’ education. It is critical that we advocate scaling of the approach in all states,” said Cristian Munduate, UNICEF Representative in Nigeria.

“I express the deep appreciation of UNICEF to the UK Government for this long-term commitment and funding for girls’ access to primary school in northern Nigeria. Together there remains much work to be done, to ensure that girls transition to, and complete secondary education.