Stakeholders in the education sector have called on state governments to make laws to prevent child marriage and make it compulsory for parents to enroll their children in school.
They made the call at a Public Policy Dialogue on challenges of education in Nigeria with the theme: Education and Contemporary Emergencies: A sustainable approach organised by the Jigawa Human Capital Development Initiative (JG-HCD) supported by Partnership to engage, reform and learn (PERL), held at Manpower Development Institute, Dutse, the Jigawa State capital.
They stated that education in Nigeria, especially the northern part of the country, suffers neglect from the parents, government and society in general due to some cultural beliefs and lack of political will.
During the dialogue, some of the key challenges affecting the girls’ education were identified to include poverty, illiteracy, insecurity and marginalization of women in government activities.
They however urged the government to critically look into the problems and provide workable solutions that will help in addressing the problems.
“Provision of law that will enforce parents to enroll their girl children into schools and stopped them marrying off their daughters at a tender age would only be a solution the increasing numbers of out of school children especially girl child in Nigeria,” they said.
Permanent Secretary, Jigawa State Ministry of Education Science and Technology represented by Director, Schools, Abdullahi Dangwanki said developing education is a responsibility of all to achieve the set objectives.
He also urged development partners, parents and wealthy individuals to support the government’s efforts in addressing the menace of out-of-school children especially girls in the country.
PERL Team leader Kano/Jigawa office Isah Surajo said the dialogue is aimed at discussing with relevant stakeholders the effects of the contemporary emergencies on the educational system towards ensuring a safe and protective learning environment that would increase access, attendance, reduce truancy, enhance retention and completions.