By Gami Tadanyigbe
Kuje (FCT) – Mr Bulus Danladi, the Education Secretary of Kuje Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory(FCT), has called on the Federal Government to boost support for girl-child education.
Danladi told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Kuje on Saturday that this would boost national development.
He said there was need for the government to invest more in girl-child education to promote nation building and reduce street begging in some parts of the country.
“It is often said that if you educate a woman, you educate the entire society, while if you educate a man, you educate a person.
“The girl phenomenon is a less attractive issue especially their welfare and role in nation building and this is wrong.
“Education goes far beyond the four walls of a school, but adequate empowerment is another category of educating a child,’’ he said.
According to him, girls in Nigeria are often seen moving around towns and villages hawking items of paltry value that hardly justifies the hours spent in the burning sun.
“Sometimes girls become vulnerable to harassment from men and other dangerous vices on the streets.
“Parents of the girl-child, especially mothers, consider their daughters as tools for generating income due to poverty and illiteracy instead of sending them to school,” he said.
The secretary said he would liaise with the Chairman of the council, Mr Abdulahi Galadima, to introduce a scholarship scheme for the girl-child at the primary and junior secondary school level in the area.
He added that there was the need to sensitise the residents of the FCT on the importance of girl-child education.
(Edited by Kabir Muhammad and controlled by Mufutau Ojo)