At this crucial moment in global news, the burning issue of girls’ education takes centre stage. At the international conference on girls’ education organized by the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF), the spotlight was on this critical issue. The event brought together key stakeholders from Nigeria and the international community for two days to address the challenges and opportunities of girls’ education.
Figures released by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) reveal that about 20 million Nigerians, or 60% of out-of-school children, are girls, with over 10 million coming from the northern part of the country. According to UNICEF, 7.6 million girls are out of school in Nigeria; 3.9 million in primary school and 3.7 million in secondary school. More than 50% of girls do not attend school at the basic education level, 48% of out-of-school girls are in the North West and North East. In each cohort, one million girls drop out between grade 1 and grade 12, and 0.6 million between grade 6 and junior high school. At least 1 in 4 girls are forced into early marriage, and this figure is even higher in the North West (39%).
Girls’ education remains a critical issue in Nigeria. The international conference on girls’ education provided an opportunity to highlight innovative strategies and partnerships that could close the gender gap in education. NewGlobe, known for its transformative education programs, was a major contributor to this important dialogue.
NewGlobe, an education expert and global leader in learning, has over the years deployed globally recognized solutions that are transforming the basic education landscape across the globe, including Nigeria. NewGlobe’s holistic methodology, which integrates learning technology platforms, ensures that literacy and numeracy are achieved at the child’s learning level, not just at the classroom level. This has been a real catalyst for children, irrespective of their gender, social and economic background, by improving the impact of learning across the board.
In partnership with visionary government leaders, NewGlobe’s methodology is currently being used in Lagos (EKOEXCEL), Edo (EdoBEST), Kwara (KwaraLEARN) and Bayelsa (BayelsaPRIME) states. An extensive 2-year study of the methodology by Harvard professor and 2019 Nobel Prize winner Professor Michael Kremer found that even children living in rural communities receive 54% more learning in school.. This means that primary school students in NewGlobe’s partner programs are almost a year ahead of students in other schools taught through mainstream methods, regardless of gender, social or economic background.
At the summit, NewGlobe Nigeria Group Managing Director, Dr. Soji Akinyele, commended the event organizers, highlighting the pivotal role of the international conference on girls’ education at this pivotal time in Nigeria. He specifically encouraged participants and education policymakers to explore sustainable and scalable models of early learning and basic education in general to ensure that every girl in Nigeria has access to quality education.
Dr. Akinyele said, “Together, through innovative local solutions and the determination of leaders, we can unleash the potential of every Nigerian girl, and in doing so, unleash the potential of our beloved country, Nigeria.”
The time to act is now. The NGF launched the Girls’ Education Volunteer Advocates (GICEVA) initiative, a platform designed to mobilize volunteers for girls’ education across Nigeria, and unveiled the Girl Ambassadors, who will represent the commitment to girls’ education among members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) in Nigeria’s 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
However, more action is needed in terms of policy adoption and implementation. We need to start implementing successful local solutions across the country, all girls everywhere in Nigeria, not just in Edo, Lagos, Kwara and Bayelsa, must be given the opportunity to get the best education for the benefit of Nigeria’s growth and development.