Niger State Government is to supply one million computers and tablets to all the government schools across the state.
Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago stated this at the Traditional and Religious Leaders Conference on the Significance of Girls Education in North Central Geo political zone of the country held in Minna on Tuesday.
The Programme was put together by the Federal Ministry of Education in collaboration with the Adolescent Girls Initiative for Learning & Empowerment (AGILE), the Niger State Ministry of Basic education and the Sultan Foundation.
Governor Umaru Bago, who said the world has moved on technologically, emphasised that the procurement of the computers and tablets which has commenced, is to ensure that pupils and students in government schools have access to the gadgets.
He also stated that the state government has laid fibre optics cables, to provide free internet services to public Schools and other government institutions, explaining that the pilot scheme of the initiative will soon commence in Minna.
Umaru Bago reaffirmed that the State Government is in tandem with the vision of AGILE in ensuring that the girl child is educated; hence, the state government has a 10-year programme which will provide Scholarships to 1,000 females every year to study Nursing, medicine and other medical related courses.
He said the state government has attached importance to girl child, and it is rolling out many initiatives including the call Centre Project that would see many females becoming call operators.
The Sultan of Sokoto, His Eminence, Alhaji. Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar in his remarks, said the ultimate goal of the conference is for the Traditional and Religious leaders to champion and campaign for the girl child education.
The Minister of Education, Olatunji Alausa, represented by the Director in the Ministry who is also the Principal of Federal Government College, Minna, Suraju Darda’u highlighted the crucial role of Traditional and Religious Leaders in the society and enjoined them to intensify actions in creating awareness among their subjects on the need to educate female children.
The Commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education, Dr. Hadiza Asabe Mohammed, acknowledged that the North Central Geo-Political Zone, like many other regions, faces numerous challenges, including low literacy rates, gender inequality, and limited access to quality education, particularly for girls.
She however, expressed hope that the conference will go a long way in recognizing that education is the key to unlocking the potential of young women to have better jobs and contribute meaningfully to societal growth and development.
Speaking on the overview of the AGILE project, the coordinator, Amina Buba Haruna explained that the objective is to improve adolescent girls in secondary schools and to see how they can become good role models.
She revealed that some policies of Governor Umaru Bago such as the domestication of child’s rights and adoption of the National policy on gender education are some factors considered for Niger State to be part of the 18 benefitting States.
In their goodwill messages, the Chairman, Jama’atu Nasril Islam Niger State, Alh. Dalhatu Aliyu Makaman Nupe, the State Chairman Imams Forum, Sheikh Adamu Yakatun, the Chairman, Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) Niger State, Bishop Bulus Dauda Yohanna and the State Ameera of FOMWAN, Hajiya Hauwa Kulu Abdullahi, acknowledged that the empowerment of girls through education is a catalyst for change and a beacon of hope.
The Sultan then presided over an investiture of the Wife of the Niger State Governor, Hajiya Fatima Umaru Bago as the Ambassador of Girl Child Education in North Central Zone.
Speaking after the investiture, the wife of the governor, Hajiya Fatima Umaru Bago said, the legacy of her late father who was an educationist, and educated all his female children, inspired her commitment to promoting girl child education.
She called for collective effort to break the barriers of girl child education in not only the North Central Zone, but the country at large.
