As part of activities to mark the 2021 International Day of the Girl Child, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in collaboration with the Katsina State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) has commenced intensive digital training for schoolgirls to tackle digital illiteracy in the state.
The UNICEF Focal Person, Hauwau Muhammad Kaikai, while addressing journalists during the training, said the schoolgirls were selected from the Girls for Girls (G4G) focal schools in Ingawa, Kankia, Baure, Rimi and Katsina Local Government Areas of the state.
The G4G project, funded by Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) of the UK, is being implemented by UNICEF to ensure girls’ enrolment, retention and transition in school across Katsina, Kano, Sokoto, kebbi, Bauchi, Adamawa, Yobe and Boron States.
Kaikai explained that UNICEF is particularly concerned about the plight of the girl-child, especially those in rural communities because of their vulnerability and the harmful treatments they suffer in the society.
She said: “At the end of the training, 10 girls with the best results will be selected. Five of them will again be selected to represent Katsina State in Abuja and the other five will remain in the state for further training.”
In his welcome remarks, the Executive Chairman of SUBEB, Lawal Buhari Daura, said that the state government was committed to the success of girl-child education, noting that the state has attained over 60 per cent compliance in ICT literacy in its schools.
In order to enhance universal coverage in Katsina State, he said the state government has instituted free and compulsory education policy for all which has led to massive enrolment of the girl-child in schools across the 34 local government areas of the state.
In her remarks, the state Chairperson, High-Level Women Advocate (HILWA), Mariatu Abdullahi, urged the girls to study hard and shun any act capable of truncating their education in the state.
Source: Thisday
