The Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) has committed to allocating at least 15 percent of their annual budgets to the education sector, with a special emphasis on girl-child education. This announcement was made by the NGF Chairman and Kwara State Governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, during his closing remarks at a two-day international conference on Girl Child Education in Nigeria.
The conference, held at the Old Banquet Hall, Presidential Villa, focused on the theme “Girl Child Empowerment through Quality Education.” AbdulRazaq, represented by the Director-General of the forum, Abdulateef Shittu, affirmed the NGF’s unwavering commitment to education financing, particularly for girl-child education. “We declare our readiness to meet the international benchmark of at least 15% annual budgetary allocation to the education sector,” he stated.
The Chairman highlighted the unveiling of Girl Education Ambassadors as a critical initiative aimed at addressing access to education and the learning poverty faced by children in Nigeria. He elaborated, “This initiative aims to engage over 774,000 Girl Child Education Volunteers’ Advocates (GICEVA) across all local government areas in Nigeria annually.”
In partnership with the Gender Desk Officers of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), the NGF plans to utilize these volunteers for advocacy projects that promote access to quality education. Additionally, the Governors’ Forum announced a collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Youth to establish a Girl Child Education Community Service Group. This group will play a vital role in tackling the challenge of out-of-school children, with a focus on increasing primary school enrollment, foundational literacy and numeracy, and enhancing teacher capacity training.