Jigawa To Engage 16,000 Women On School Safety

Jigawa State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) is to mobilise 16,000 mothers to participate in school monitoring, aiming to enhance school safety and improve learning outcomes.

The executive chairman of the board, Professor Haruna Musa, disclosed this while responding to questions from journalists during a training session for 57 gender and social mobilisation officers from across the state’s 27 local government areas in Dutse.

He said the administration of Governor Umar Namadi introduced the initiative to form mothers’ associations to expand community participation in school monitoring and ownership for better results.

The chairman noted that in each basic school, they would recruit five mothers who would be mentored and supported to participate in the monitoring.

“There are five thematic areas we want the women to focus on: first, ensuring that their children attend school daily with all necessary learning materials. Secondly, checking their children’s books after school to assess whether learning has taken place.

“Thirdly, each mother will champion school enrollment in her community to reduce out-of-school children. Fourthly, mothers will monitor their children’s safety to prevent physical molestation or security threats,” the chairman stated.

He added that over 3,600 mothers from pilot local governments had already been trained and mentored, with plans to expand the initiative until such groups are established in every basic school across the state.

According to him, the training was designed to enhance their capacity to effectively support and work with the Mothers Association to achieve the desired objectives.

Professor Musa expressed optimism that women’s participation and community ownership in education would help reduce the high rate of out-of-school children and learning poverty, thereby improving learning outcomes and literacy levels in the state.