Group harps on quality education for girls, rights enlightenment

An Oyo State-based non-governmental organisation (NGO), Mentoring Assistance for Youths and Entrepreneurs Initiative (MAYEIN), has said education must be inclusive and qualitative for every Nigerian child and girls especially.

Speaking during a programme to empower the girl-child in Ibadan, its Founder and Executive Director, Edem Ossai,  said “if Nigeria must realise her potentials and develop in accordance with the standard of advanced nations, it has to prioritise qualitative education and as well give attention to girls’ education.”

The 11- year old organisation, also disclosed that not less than 15,000 teenagers that included youths and girls, were impacted through its education scheme since 2012.

It emphasised that girls education “is so important such that any nation that neglected or is neglecting it risks being underdeveloped.”

MAYEIN said it had launched a Girls in Education Dialogues Project, following its observation of the gap of access and inclusion in education policies in Oyo State. It added that it has trained over 150 girls on knowledge of their rights, as well as learning to become self-advocates and exercising their agency in education decision making.

The event also enabled the girls opportunity to interact with officials of Oyo State Ministry of Education, the state’s  lawmakers, community leaders, parents, teachers and other key stakeholders in education, where they discussed issues like the needs and challenges of schoolgirls in Oyo.

The aim of the event is that the resolutions drawn from the discussion are to be presented as a policy document to the Oyo State Government and other stakeholders to enable them address the issues raised by the schoolgirls.

The participating schools were: Oba Akinbiyi High School II, Methodist Secondary School, Favos IMG Grammar School, Oje, St Brigid’s Secondary School
Ikolaba Grammar School, Community High School, Agbowo Bodija, Orogun Grammar School, Samuel Adegbite Grammar School, Ojoo High School and others.

The presiding panel was chaired by Dr Yemi Farounbi, a former Nigerian Ambassador to the Philippines, Oloye Lekan Alabi, the Maye Olubadan, Dr Mosuro – Founder, The Booksellers, Mrs Funsho Adegbola- Founder The Vale College and Mrs Helen Ojehomon – the President of Niger Wives Nigeria as well as the representative of the Commissioner for Education, Ministry of Education Science and Technology.

In her keynote address, representative of the Oyo State Head of Service, Mrs.Oyeyemi Ojo, said girls’ education could not be overlooked.