As part of the efforts to ensure increasing girl-child education in Nasarawa State, stakeholders in collaboration with the state’s Ministry of Education, have inaugurated a committee on full implementation of girl-child education policy.

Inaugurating the committee in Lafia, the Deputy Director of Schools, Abubakar Kana, said that the policy was designed by multi-sectorial, with two NGOs – Centre For Women, Youth and Community Action (NACWYCA) and First Step Action for Children Initiative facilitating the Policy Document with support from Rise-Up Nigeria.

He added that with the committee in place, the implementation of the policy document will kick start in the state.On his part, the policy document project coordinator, Mr. Augustine Ayuba, said that the mission of the policy as contained in the document was to provide an enabling environment for the promotion of gender equality in education and training and to eliminate gender disparity.

Mr. Ayuba noted that with the committee members drawn from all the sectors including the security agents, it was expected that there shall be more enrolment, retention, completion as well as transition of a girl child education in the state.

He further explained that there will be reduction in school drop out of a girl-child as well as gender-based violence, adding that the policy document if properly implemented with the committee in place, girl-child abuses will drastically reduce because the communities where the girls reside are expected to provide safety for them as contained in the document.

Ayuba however assured that with the inauguration of the committee, the ministry of education would now take full charge to ensure the policy is spread and implemented.

Stakeholders in their separates remarks expressed great worries over the frustration faced in prosecuting perpetrators of rape against the girl child in the state.

One of the stakeholders who was from the security organization, regretted that some of the perpetrators are walking free while they are supposed to be in prison custody.

Stakeholders from the Ministry of Justice complained that the major challenge they have with prosecuting rape cases is the refusal of parents of victims to appear in court to testify.

Other stakeholders blamed politicians and community leaders who will prevail on parents of victims from appearing in court to testify, thereby frustrating the effective prosecution of perpetrators of rape.