NAN
The Kaduna State Government said on Friday it would spend N3 billion on girl-child education and schools’ improvement before the end of 2018.
Malam Dahuru Anchau, Director of Public Schools in the state Ministry for Education, Science and Technology made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Kaduna.
Anchau said that the money would largely offer scholarship to girls in primary schools and also go into the training of female teachers in public schools.
According to him, the money is part of the World Bank 21.5 million dollar grant to the state, out of the 100 million dollar grant under the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) project.
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Anchau, who is the coordinator of the project in the state, said that the grant was disbursed by the World bank to Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Jigawa and Sokoto states where girl-child education index was very low.
He explained that the aim was to support the states in strengthening the quality of basic education and increase access to education by the girl-child and those in Almajiri schools.
The coordinator explained that the four-year project, which commenced in 2016, had so far disbursed N1.9 billion, adding that about N3.0 billion would be disburse by the end of 2018.
“The target was to provide N45, 000 as scholarship to 15, 000 primary one to three girls from poor and backward communities in the state.
“We are close to reaching this target and hoping to reach out to 25, 000 girls before the end of the programme in 2019,” he said.
The director said 1,117 female teachers have also benefited from the N45, 000 scholarship grant as at 2017, adding, however, that the number might be few in 2018.
“This is because most female teachers in the state’s public primary schools have at least Nigeria Certificate in Education (NCE).
“This development came after the disengagement of about 22, 000 public primary school teachers by the state government and the subsequent recruitment of qualified teachers.
“Therefore, we may transfer the scholarship fund for the female teachers to support the girl-child,” Anchau added.
He equally said that the scheme also provided grant for schools improvement to cover the over 4000 primary schools in the state.
According to him, 3,300 primary schools have benefited as at 2017, adding that the remaining primary schools would be covered this year.
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He described the project in the state as a huge success, stressing that it has significantly increased the enrolment and retention of the girl-child in primary school.
Mrs. Halima Gambo, a mother of one of the beneficiaries, Asma’u, 7, thanked World Bank for the support, saying the gesture is encouraging parents to send their girl-child to school.
Another beneficiary, Mrs Zulai Ahmed, a teacher with U.B.E Hayin Na’iya, Igabi Local Government Area, also commended the World Bank for making effort to improve the efficiency of teachers.
She described the scholarship as an encouragement for teachers to update their knowledge, skills and capacity.
