SPECIAL REPORT: Impact of GEP 3 in reducing girls hawking in Sokoto

One of the major obstacles affecting girl-child education in Sokoto state is street hawking by children of school age.

In this report, DOOSUUR IWAMBE took a clinical examination of how the Girls Education Project (GEP), introduced by the United Nations Children’s Fund has helped in retaining girls in school

It was exactly 10:15am in Shagari Local Government Area of Sokoto State when this reporter entered Magaji Rufa’I Islamiyya School Shagari, Sokoto State.

At the entrance of the school, a 14 -year old Amina Shehu (not real name) was sighted hawking food around the school premises.

She told this reporter that she hawk the food in the morning before resuming to school every day to support her 30 year old mother, Hannatu Mohammed who is also into petty trade.

Amina Shehu who is the 4th out of 12 children said; “I only do this hawking business in the morning and join them in school every day.

I was not going to school before now but one day, I decided to follow the children who were already in school. I sat down with them in one class. That was was how it started for me.

“I want to become a teacher in future like my mentor Hajara”, she said.

Another student at Sheik Tujjani Integrated quaranic School, Shagari Ainan Abdulahi said, she was a food vendor for several years but that the story changed after the intervention of the United Nations Children’s Fund, (UNICEF) Girls Education Programme 3, GEP3.

According to her, the mentors of the program trained by the UN body put her through some lectures after talking to her parents on the risks involved in street hawking. She said that after listening to them, she realised the risks involved and has stop food hawking since she got enrolled in the school.

She said, ‘’Before I got enrolled in the School `program, I used to hawk food on the street. To me; people that were enrolled in the school were just wasting their time but all that changed after a mentor in the school approached me and gave me reasons why I should be in school.

‘’With the training and enlightenment from the school, I have changed my mind and now concentrate on my studies”, the 7 year old Abdulahi said.

Kulu Modi, one of the mentors in Gusawa Primary School who was specially trained for the GEP3 program confirmed that before the training; they usually go out in search of the girls but that the story is different today because the girls come to school by themselves.

She said, ‘’before the program, we usually go in search of the girls because they were used to the street hawking business. Some, we went through their parents while we lured some with gift items. The story is however different today as they come voluntarily.

‘’There was a day a girl walked up to me and told me she want to be like me. I went to her parents to talk to them and they later enrolled her to the school’’.

What is Girls Education Project (GEP)

GEP3 is a long term project that commenced in 2012. The program which is expected to end on September 30, 2022 seeks to improve school access, retention and learning outcomes for girls in 5 northern Nigerian states. Between 2014 and 2017 the project was piloting a series of interventions in primary schools and Integrated Qur’anic schools (IQS). Those most effective in improving education outcomes for girls will be scaled up.

In Sokoto State a total of 418,614 girls (44%) were enrolled since 2012 in GEP3 supported schools, while in Zamfara the girls enrolled were 545,711 (62%).

According to UNICEF Chief of Field Office, Dr. Maryam Darwesh Said, since the introduction of GEP3 in 2012, FCDO has at least, donated about $109,196, 039.80 to support girls education in the six Northern states in Nigeria.

She listed the six states benefiting from the GEP3 supported schools to include; Bauchi, Katsina, Niger, Sokoto, Zamfara and Kano.

Explaining further on the progress recorded in Sokoto and Zamfara, she said in Sokoto 5,943 had their capacity built through the project, adding that 486 were female teachers.

In Zamfara, she explained that the number of teachers whose capacity and skills were enhanced through GEP3 were 5,650 of which 295 are females.

In Sokoto 880 (53 females) Integrated Quranic Schools (IQS) facilitators were trained, while in Zamfara the number is 400 (39 female).

“To support efficient and effective governance in Primary Schools and Integrated Qur’anic schools, 13,094 management committee members (of which 5,353 are women) underwent relevant capacity development trainings in Sokoto and Zamfara respectively.

“These are only a few examples of how GEP3 has contributed to maximise the benefit that young girls and boys can reap from the education system in their path towards mastering foundational literacy and numeracy skills,” she said.

While emphasizing the need to improve investment on education in Nigeria, Said called on the states to ensure full implementation of the sustainability of the GEP3 plan.

“I urge you to take the opportunity of the soon to start 2023 budgeting process to capture the required state funding contributions for UNICEF supported interventions and to provide strategic state resources for the sustainability to all gains obtained so far in the education sector from GEP3 and by and large from the partnership with UNICEF,” she said.

Also, Education Manager, UNICEF Field Office, Sokoto, Miriam Mareso who spoke on why educating girls is important’, said limited educational opportunities for girls and barriers to completing 1+ 12years of education cost countries between US$15 trillion and $30 trillion in lost lifetime productivity and earnings, saying that addressing all these factors could help lift households, communities, and countries out of poverty.

Quoting the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey, MICS, 2017 and Demographic Health Survey, DHS, 2018, she said, ” A poor girl born in northern Nigeria faces daunting challenges throughout her life.

She has a 55% chance of being stunted in early childhood and more than a 10% chance of dying, mainly from preventable disease before she reaches the age of five.

If she survives to her school-age years, she will have, on average, less than a 50% chance of enrolling in primary school and less than a 30% chance of transiting to secondary school if the girl comes from a rural community or from a poor household, she is doubly disadvantaged.

A girl from the poorest wealth quintile has a 24% chance of enrolling in primary school and only a 9% chance of enrolling in secondary compared to an 87% chance and 79% chance, respectively, for girls in the South-South region.”

On GEP3, Mareso expressed joy that over 1.3 million girls have been enrolled in primary and Integrated Quranic Schools, IQS, which according to her, exceeded the targeted 1million girls in the six states since 2012.

Also, the Executive Chairman Sokoto SUBEB, Rt. Hon Altine Shehu kajiji appreciated FCDO, UNICEF for the support so far, saying that the importance of educating girls cannot be over emphasized as it brings changes and provides a better society.

According to Kajiji, a family that raises a girl child will tend to be self- reliance.

He pledged Sokoto government’s continued commitment to improve girls enrolment and full implementation of GEP3 Sustainability plan.