International Day of Girl-Child: Borno Govt. to establish technical, vocational colleges for girls
Borno Government has promised to establish girls’ technical and vocational colleges across the state as part of efforts to empower the girl child.
Gov. Babagana Umara-Zulum disclosed this at event to mark the 2019 International Day of Girl-Child in Maiduguri
on Friday.
The Day, an annual event celebrated on Oct. 11 to promote girl’s empowerment and highlight their challenges, was declared by the UN
and was first observed in 2012.
The 2019 theme for the celebration is “Girl Force: Unscripted and Unstoppable: Empowering Girls for a Brighter Tomorrow.”
Umara-Zulum said that the state was placing priority on technical and vocational education to create employment and
wealth.
He said “we are constructing one technical/vocational college for male students along Gamboru Ngala road.
“We have almost completed the reconstruction and rehabilitation of government girls’ technical school in Damboa
Local Government Area.”
The governor described education as veritable tool to promote health, reduce menace of sexual harassment and
drug abuse among the teeming youth.
He, however, noted that primary schools in the state lacked qualified teachers, adding that a committee had been
set up to weed out unqualified ones.
Umara-Zulum explained that the main function of the committee was not to downsize teachers but to ensure
that only qualified ones were retained.
“The administration will ensure strict compliance to the outcome of this committee.
“You know that the quality of some of our teachers is not good enough to produce credible students that can match
the labour market.
“The only way we can promote education is to ensure that primary schools are standardised and
only qualified teachers are retained.”
The wife of the governor, Falmata Umara-Zulum, said that many girls in the state dropped out of school due to
the insurgency.
She urged individuals to support government’s efforts toward uplifting education in the state.
Bello Ayuba, Commissioner for Education, noted that educating the girl-child would reduce the menace
of child marriage.
