By Fatima Saka
The World Bank (WB) has urged Nigeria to adopt 12 years of compulsory basic education for all boys and girls in order to create an enabling environment for sustainable economic development.
A Senior Education Specialist with the WB in Nigeria, Mrs Aisha Garba Mohammed, made this call in Abuja at a “Follow up Media Engagement Meeting for Effective Reporting on Demographics Dividend.”
The event was organized by the National Population Commission with support from WB.
Mohammed said the charge had become necessary to improve on child education.
She noted that following deep analysis and research, it has been found that only primary education is not enough to prepare children or a students to become productive citizens.
She insisted that if a child stops schooling, nine years will not prepare a child for a better future due to the low level of quality of education in the country.
She further added that National Development Plans (NDP) ought to be based on Education Policy and Plans.
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She stressed the need for proper hygiene and sanitation in schools, saying that a situation where about 3,000 student were found in a girls’ boarding school in Kaduna with only 20 toilets is unhealthy.
Mohammed said: “The World Bank is working with State Governments in Nigeria in investing to ensure that all schools, particularly secondary schools, have enough toilets for students.
“Instead of 20 toilets in a school, they can have up to 50 toilets, or according to student ratio in a school.
“Also working in alignment with the Ministry of Education student toilet ratio, however from the World Bank key role is to support the government to be able to cater for the population right with financing,” she stated.
Also, in her address, the National Programme Coordinator of Adolescent Girls Initiative for Learning Empowerment in Nigeria (AGILE), Mrs. Amina Haruna Buba, said that the mission of the programme is to improve education opportunities among girls in targeted participating states
Buba said that the Federal Government in collaboration with WB had implemented a programme called the “Better Education Service Driven for All Bester” in 17 states which consisted of all the states in the North-East, North-West, including Cross Rivers in South South, Ebonyi in South East, Niger State in North Central and Oyo in the South West.
She revealed AGILE has a project tagged: WASH, through which it is working with the states to implement under the Self-Help Group (SHG).
“We make provision for toilet facilities and WASH water should be available. Also we provide sanitary pads for girls to be able make them comfortable at school while learning,” she added.
On her part, a UNICEF Consultant, State Coordinator of Girls’ Education Project and member of the Federation of Muslim Women’s Association of Nigeria (FOMWAN), Mrs Halima Jubril, said that 60 per cent of the 20 million out of school children in Nigeria, according to UNESCO, are girls.
The Principal Public Affairs Officer of the NPC, Admau Saleh Sinbad, said to harness demographic dividend, the media should help in disseminating the information and enlightening the public on the importance of health factors in the promotion of demographic dividend, innovation structure, infant mortality, expanding girl child education, conditional cash transfer, among others.
