The Executive Director of the African Center for Leadership, strategy, and Development (Center LSD), Mr. Monday Osasah said Community-Led Collective Action for Girlchild Education (C-CAGE) project was conceptualized to address the growing menace of out-of-school children in Nigeria.
Osasah said the growing menace currently stands at 13 million and is the world’s highest number.
The LSD Director made this revelation in his welcome address during a one-day subnational summit on girl-child education in Yola, Adamawa State as a major activity in the implementation of the project “Community-Led Collective Action for Girlchild Education (C-CAGE), supported by the Malala Fund and implemented by the African Centre for Leadership, Strategy, and Development (Centre LSD).
According to him sixty percent of the children are in northern Nigeria. The project focussed on girl-child education because girls account for over 60% of out-of-school children’s statistics.
He said Centre LSD is a non-profit, non-governmental organization established under Nigerian laws to build strategic leadership for sustainable development in Africa.
“The vision of Centre LSD is an African society with strategic leadership and sustainable development. The Centre’s mission is to work with forces of positive change to empower citizens to transform society. The Centre is guided by the values of transparency and accountability; integrity; feminism; diversity; the dignity of the human person and Pan-Africanism.
“C-CAGE, therefore, was a special purpose vehicle for addressing the inhibiting factors of early marriages, poverty, insecurity, religious beliefs, cultural norms, and general apathy to girl child education in the State. The project also challenged systems and structures that over time exacerbated the challenge including patriarchy, mode of socialization, gender injustice, etc.” Osasah said
Monday assured that Centre LSD’s target in its proposal to Malala fund in terms of the number of out-of-schoolgirls it would work with to return to school within the life span of the project was 1,000.
“We are glad that today, 3 years down the line, the inhibiting factors are not only shifting, with the change in the narrative in the focal Local Government Areas of Numan, Song, and Maiha, but we are pleased to report that a lot of successes have come with the project including;
“Enrolment of 1,451 out of schoolgirls into secondary school from the 3 focal Local Government Areas of Numan (577), Song (360), and Maiha (514).
” Establishment of 25 safe spaces across the LGAs with 1072 Girls (in and out of schoolgirls) for the learning of basic numeracy and vocational skills
” Existence of functional registers of out-of-school children in the palaces of our traditional rulers for regular and onward forwarding to schools.
“The revitalization of the only girls’ school, Pare Girls in Numan LGA. The school sometime back had only 17 girls but all that is history because of this project – 111 students.
“Functional Malala-Centre LSD Education Committee in the 3 LGAs – campaigning and mobilizing for girl education.
” Improved economy of the young girls and their families due to skills training at the safe spaces.
“Seven of our girls in the safe spaces have written the West African Examination Council Examination and proceeded to write JAMB, giving them access to tertiary institutions of their choice (2 are currently enrolled in the Tertiary institution – Sa’adatu College of Health Technology and State Polytechnic Yola),” Monday said
While thanking the Government of Adamawa State for their support and encouragement, he said the Government in collaboration with the provisions of the UBE Act 2004, made Basic Education free and compulsory for all children in the state.
He said government efforts in paying for WAEC & NECO registration fees for all students in public schools which were paid for 46,420 candidates in 2021 alone is well commendable.
Monday said: “We thank the Deputy Speaker, Rt. Hon. P. M Mackondo for the motions he moved for the support of girlchild education in the State. The broader evidence of his support is the chairing of the event today. We also thank the Hon. Commissioner for Education, Chief Wilbina Jackson whose support for girl-child education remains legendary. She is ever accessible and meeting her is always a delight.”
He also commended Government officials like Hon Jafar Haske, House of Representatives (HoR) member for Mubi North, Mubi South, and Maiha House of Representatives, chairman of Numan LGA, Alhaji Abubakar Madawakin Mubi, and Maiha Education Committee who donated 400,90,700,20,62 notebooks respective to Centre LSD.
“We also like to salute the commitment and passion displayed by the Centre LSD-Malala Education Committee in the 3 LGAs. We are impressed with your commitments and zeal in the delivery of your assignment, an assignment you did probono. We also thank all our traditional rulers. Your support and buy-in into the project are huge and worthy of commendation. Thank you, sirs, for your unending commitments to societal development. To our resource persons, I say thank you.
“Today’s summit-themed “Girl Child Education; A Veritable Tool for Development”, is organized to reinforce the necessity of training the girl-child and to highlight the need for you seated here to join or continue the advocacy to advancing girl-child education. There will be a presentation, a panel session, and the premiere of a documentary on the project. I enjoin you to be attentive as the segments are loaded with learnings.” Isaiah started
Stakeholders from the three pilot local government areas of Song, Maiha, and Numan who are government officials,academics,well spirited individuals and traditional rulers have graced the occasion.
In their separate goodwill messages appreciated the Malala Fund and Center LSD for improving the quality of education for the girl-child in Adamawa state.
The adjudged that the enrolment of girl child in Primaries and secondary schools have significantly improved in Adamawa state because of Malala and Center LSD project in the state.
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