*Nyahama Japhet*
Adamawa State Commissioner of Education and Human Capital Development Dr. Umar Garba Pella, has cautioned that Government will enforce the Basic Education Law that makes education free and compulsory.
According to the Commissioner, the Government in the state will criminalise any parent who refuses to send or deny his/her child access to education.
Dr Pella stated this in a programme organized by the Adolescent Girls Initiative For Learning And Empowerment (AGILE) in collaboration with the Adamawa State Government to mark the International Day of A Girl Child.
The programme, which was held at Nyako Training Center in the State Secretariat Yola, with a theme “Girls’ Vision For the Future”, brought together AGILE Staff, stakeholders and teenage students from selected schools in the state.
According to the Dr. Pella, already Adamawa State Government working in collaboration with civil society organizations has domesticated all Gender Based Violence laws, saying that no child should be discriminated or denied access to education.
He warned that all the GBV laws are in effect, calling on civil society organizations and partners to support the Government in ensuring that the laws take their full course on violators.
He emphasized that only through such measures the girl child would be released from the shackles of harmful traditions and practices, norms, cultures and decisions of families who careless about the education of the girl child.
According to him, no parent would have an excuse not to send their wards to school based on poverty because the Government in Adamawa State has made education free in public schools.
He cautioned the teenage students to be weary of men trying to deceive them into marriage at an early age when they are supposed to be in school, noting that any man that is luring them to live school and Mary is not actually in for the marriage but domination.
According to him, even though other cultural practices and norms permitted such horrifying and unguided actss, it is important to safeguard the life and future of the innocent girls, the commissioner said.
On her part, the State Commissioner of Women Affairs, Neido Kofulto, revealed that the team for this year’s event is apt, calling on relevant stakeholders to ensure the girl child is supported to achieve her dreams and aspirations.
She revealed that lack of education and awareness is among the challenges facing the girl child saying that with education, the girl child will be confident to speak out against any form of GBV.
She called on the stakeholders to rise against norms, cultures and traditions that tend to hamper the rights and dignity of the girl child in the society.
She appreciated Governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri for taking bold steps to sign into law the GBV prohibition laws and carrying women along in governance.
Earlier in her speech, the Social Safeguard Officer Adamawa State AGILE, Lydia Ma’ajam, revealed that for too long, the potential of the girl child has been limited by the changes they face, gender inequality, lack of access to education, and early marriage, among others.
She said that understanding their vision, as captured in the 2024 theme, means recognizing these barriers and working to dismantle them. According to her, it also means creating space where girls can be empowered to realise their full potential.
She urged stakeholders to not only focus on the education of the girl child, but according to her, the girl child also needs opportunities to lead, whether in school or communities.
This, according to the AGILE Safeguard Officer, will help them to develop confidence to step into positions of influence.
“We must also address the very real issue of gender-based violence, which threatens their security and limits their opportunities. Girls envision a world where they are free from violence and can focus fully on their future”.
