Equitable access to education is critical for young people to become productive members of society and our next generation of moral and innovative leaders. This is especially true for vulnerable girls in Nigeria, who often must endure the hardships and trauma related to insufficient financial support for education and gender-based violence in schools that deprive them of this important foundation. To address these challenges, the Global Peace Foundation (GPF) Nigeria strongly advocates for equitable access to education for vulnerable girls through their community peacebuilding initiatives.
In January and February 2025, GPF Nigeria collaborated with the Back to School Educational Initiative (BASEI) in Kaduna State under the Rise Up project. Together, they sponsored three events to raise awareness of the challenges facing vulnerable girls in the region and the importance of providing them with their rightful access to education.
On January 23 and 30, a Live Radio Town Hall program was broadcast on Liberty Radio FM Kaduna as part of a broader advocacy program to highlight the urgent need for the Kaduna State Government to reinstate funding for external examination fees for public senior secondary school students. The funding, which was eliminated two years ago, is needed to ensure the continuing education of young people, especially vulnerable girls. Rise Up leaders Abdul Ahmed and Ahmadu Shettima were featured in the live 30-minute program, which reached approximately 3 million listeners.
Further, a one-day conference held on January 29 brought together traditional rulers and leaders to discuss their role in promoting girls’ education in the Northwest region. Featured panelists included GPF Nigeria Country Director Rev. John Joseph Hayab and Northern Coordinator Sheikh Halliru Maraya. Discussions focused on increasing enrollment, retention, and completion rates and advocating for the Kaduna State Government to reinstate payment of public school student examination fees.
To round out the activities over the two months, Media Roundtable Discussions on Girls’ Access to Education in Kaduna State were held at the Nigeria Union of Journalists Press Centre, Kaduna on February 25. Attendees at the hybrid in-person and virtual event included key stakeholders who came together to address challenges negatively impacting girls’ education, such as financial barriers preventing girls from taking public secondary school exams and gender-based school violence.
Rev. Hayab advocated for the government to release funds for the secondary school exams while Sheikh Mayara called for urgent action to address the barriers impeding children’s education,
especially girls. Stakeholders, including government officials, education advocates, and community leaders, stressed the importance of policy implementation, increased advocacy, and community engagement to address the challenges young girls face in accessing equitable access to education.
Events such as the live radio program, one-day conference, and media roundtable discussions create increased awareness of the need to collectively address financial barriers and gender-based violence in public schools preventing girls from accessing and completing their secondary education. Advocating for the release of government funds and ending gender-based violence in schools will go a long way to achieving this goal.
Safety in schools is necessary for girls to thrive and reach their full potential as valued members of society. As such, GPF Nigeria, in collaboration with its educational Initiative (BASEI) in Kaduna State under the Rise Up project, strongly advocates for creating safe spaces and community support systems to protect girls in the education environment.
GPF Nigeria will continue to work with its diverse partners and stakeholders to achieve sustainable educational reforms that create equitable access to education for all children, especially vulnerable girls.
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