Adamawa State Commissioner of Education and Human Capital Development Dr. Umar Pella, has announced that the government will enforce the Basic Education Law that makes education free and compulsory in the state.
According to the Commissioner, the Government in the state will criminalise any parent who refuses to send or deny his/her child access to education.
Dr Pella stated this in a programme organised by the Adolescent Girls Initiative For Learning And Empowerment (AGILE) in collaboration with the Adamawa State Government to mark the International Day of the Girl Child.
The programme, which was held at the State Secretariat, Yola, with a theme “Girls’ Vision For the Future”, brought together AGILE staff, stakeholders and teenage students from selected schools in the state.
The Commissioner said that the Adamawa State government is already working in collaboration with civil society organisations and has domesticated all Gender Based Violence laws, saying that no child should be discriminated against or denied access to education.
He further emphasised that only through such measures can the girl child be released from the shackles of harmful traditions and practices, norms, cultures and decisions of families who care less about the education of the girl child.
According to him, no parent would have an excuse not to send their wards to school based on poverty because the government in Adamawa State has made education free in public schools.
He also cautioned the teenage students to be weary of men trying to deceive them into marriage at an early age when they are supposed to be in school, noting that any man that is luring them to leave school and marry is not actually in for the marriage, but domination.
According to him, even though other cultural practices and norms permitted such horrifying and unguided acts, it is important to safeguard the life and future of the innocent girls.
For her part, the State Commissioner of Women Affairs, Neido Kofulto, described the theme for this year’s event as apt, calling on relevant stakeholders to ensure the girl child is supported to achieve her dreams and aspirations.
She identified lack of education and awareness among the challenges facing the girl child, maintaining that with education, the girl child will be confident to speak out against any form of GBV.
Kofulto called on the stakeholders to rise against norms, cultures and traditions that tend to hamper the rights and dignity of the girl child in the society.
She appreciated Governor Ahmadu Fintiri for taking the bold steps to sign into law the GBV prohibition laws and carrying women along in governance.
Earlier in her speech, the Social Safeguard Officer Adamawa State AGILE, Lydia Ma’ajam, revealed that for too long, the potential of the girl child has been limited by the changes they face, gender inequality, lack of access to education, early marriage, among others.
She urged stakeholders to not only focus on the education of the girl child, but according to her, the girl child also needs opportunities to lead in the school and in the communities.
According to her, this will help them to develop confidence to step into positions of influence.
