The Sultan Foundation for Peace and Development, an NGO, has entered into partnership with the UNICEF to boost girl-child enrolment into schools in Northern Nigeria

The Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar III, who is also the Grand Patron of the foundation, made the disclosure at a stakeholders meeting on girl-child education in Kaduna on Saturday.

He said that under the partnership, UNICEF would support the foundation with technical expertise to bridge the enrolment gap and demystify the perception by parents about girl-child education in the region.

The Sultan said that the notion, particularly in the region that the place of a woman is in the kitchen must be demystified, so that parents would allow girls to acquire western education.

Sa'ad disclosed that the two bodies would soon organise a conference to address the problem.

On her part, Jean Gough, the Country Representative, UNICEF Nigeria, said that Nigeria would not achieve much without education.

She said that in spite of the free and compulsory basic education in the country, 8.7 million children, representing 34.3 per cent of primary school age children remained out of school.

“Combined with junior secondary school out of school children, the figure stands at 10.1 million and globally, Nigeria accounts for more than one-in-five out-of-school children.”

She noted that women were more marginalised in terms of education in Northern Nigeria.

“As such, a clear educational divide exists between Southern and Northern states, with the average net attendance ratio in Southern states more than 20 times higher than in Northern states.

“It is based on this situation that UNICEF and Sultan Foundation for Peace and Development partnered to reduce the gap in girl-child education, enrolment, retention and completion of basic education in northern Nigeria.

“This we intend to achieve in collaboration with ministries of education in the 19 northern states.”

Participants at the meeting were drawn from ministries of education in the 19 northern states. (NAN)

•Photo shows Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar III.