HILWA Introduce Strategies To Boost Female School Attendance

The High Level Women Advocates (HILWA) an Non-Governmental Organisation that works with UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to assist the girl-child to possess relevant education qualificationNGO, says it has introduced strategies that boosted the 2018 girl-child school enrolment in Katsina State.

Hajiya Mariya Abdullahi, the Chairperson of HILWA in Katsina State, made this known at an event to mark the 2018 International Day of the Girl-Child on Tuesday in Katsina.

She said that a 2018 female school enrolment census was conducted by the organisation which showed an increases in attendance than the figures registered in 2017.

The chairperson added that “HILWA introduced a programme called — “Girls For Girls” (G For G) — whereby female civil servants assist by encouraging parents to enroll their daughters in primary and junior secondary schools.

“G For G as we popularly call the programme is purely a women affair designed to cajole girls to schools sometimes with a gift or incentives by women civil servants to make sure girls are enrolled and retained in schools.

“We also introduced enlightenment and sensitisation campaigns that we follow to educate parents on the need to enroll daughters in school.

“Our organisation and UNICEF introduced a scholarship scheme of N25,000 to each female that enrolled in primary school in villages across the state.”

The chairperson of the women advocates added that the NGO introduced another programme called

“He or She”, where school boys were mobilized to encourage girls to obtain education.

“We also introduced “Female Teacher Training Scheme” (FTTS) a programme that encouraged female wards to obtain NCE at Isah Kaita College of Education with a scholarship of N50,000 yearly for selected girls from villages to become school teachers in rural areas.”

Abdullahi said the group also introduced “Enrolment Campaign Drive” under the Emirs of Katsina and Daura to mobilize their subjects to send their daughters to school.

She explained that the organisation was committed to assist the girl-child to obtain both western and Islamic education.

“This time around, we will also assist the girls to learn hand crafts and vocational skills.

“We don’t want girls to fold their arms and wait for handout from their parents or husbands, we shall continue to mobilise and teach them on how to become self reliant that will improve their lives and that of their coming children.”

HILWA, in collaboration with UNICEF, produced 3,500 female NCE teachers under the FTTS and they had been given employment to teach in their wards and villages to serve as role models in their areas.