A Collaborative effort between the Katsina State Government and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has seen 1,395 girls return to school across three local councils of the state.

The three councils included Mani, Katsina and Rimi, with the girls given educational kits, uniforms, writing materials, bags and shoes at an event in Rimi, yesterday.

Speaking at the flag-off of the back-to-school campaign and distribution of school kits, the Deputy Governor, Faruk Jobe, commended the collaboration, even as he described the initiative as a step to boost girl-child education in the state.

Jobe added that the step taken would go a long way in addressing the menace of street hawking among girls, as well as provide a solid foundation for their future.

The deputy governor, who described education as a cornerstone for any development, assured that the state government would continue to give the critical sector deserved attention.

He, therefore, called on stakeholders, particularly community leaders, parents and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), to work with the government in improving girls’ education in the state.

Special Adviser to the Governor on Girl-Child Education, Jamila Mani, had called for collective responsibility by stakeholders to ensure girls were given the opportunity to acquire education like boys in the state.

“We need to ensure that our girls have access to quality education and are given the support they need to achieve their full potential,” she said, while assuring that her department would do everything within its ability to promote girls’ education, even as she commended contribution of the participating councils in the promotion of education in the state.

Culled from Guardian