When we put education first, we can reduce poverty, hunger, end wasted potential and look forward to stronger and better societies for all. “These were the words of the United Nations’ Secretary General, Ban Ki-Moon during his launch of the Global Education First Initiative (GEFI) in September 2012.

The Global Education First Initiative, which spurs renewed efforts to reach global education goals, aims to raise the political profile of education, inspire new partnerships and mobilise additional funding to deliver on the promise of education for all.

The initiative focuses on three priority areas. First, to ensure that every child of school age is in school as a human right. Secondly, to  improve the quality of learning and thirdly, to foster global citizenship which emphasises the transformative power of education as the only tool of providing children with the understanding they need to co-operate in resolving the interconnected challenges of the 21st Century.

Therefore, if education for all should be the concern of the global government and citizens, it follows that the education and training of the girl-child in Nigeria will remain an agenda that cannot be exhausted in a hurry, until a reseasonable result is obtained and visibly observed too.

As natural home makers and builders, suffice it to say that talks about nation- building can only be realistic when women are properly educated and subsequently empowered, so they can be part of the scheme. Why? Because nation-building requires a democratic society that allows contribution of all; rich, poor, male, female, youth and adult.

The 2013 theme for International Women’s Day Celebration, “Gender Agenda: Gaining Momentum” captured the essence of getting the women involved in the scheme of things by first becoming enlightened and then economically viable.

For this reason, the Ministry of Women Affairs’s effort is evident in skills acquisition programme in agro, crafts and ICT in collaboration with the Empowerment Support Initiative (ESI) as part of her empowerment programmes.

The Commissioner for Women Affairs in Rivers state, Mrs Joeba West, had said it is time for women to access and evaluate their level of achievement in the area of empowerment.

“This can also be seen in Governor Chibuike Amaechi’s efforts in providing free education and free school materials to cushion the financial burden on parents in giving their children quality education the commissioner affirmed.

Mrs West, who believes in the magic of advocacy and sensitization, used the opportunity of the International Day for the Girl-Child to implore parents to invest in the education of the girl-child and take advantage of the free school programme and model schools established all over the state, stating that her ministry’s mandate is to educate and empower women and girls as well as reaffirm their human rights.

According to the commissioner, the Ministry of Women Affairs also has the mandate to address the discrimination and violence faced by women in their families and societies at large.

“In line with this year’s theme for the International Day of the Girl-Child, “Innovating for Girls Education,” the Ministry of Women Affairs has package a mentoring programme known as the “Growing Into Real Life (G.I.R.L), initiative whose mission is to provide the girl-child with the much needed guidance and counselling services with which to fight the challenges of dropping out of school,” she said.

The ministry, the commissioner revealed, is also working on a support and advocacy programme that will encourage girls and women who are either not educated or stopped their education abruptly due to teenage pregnancy, early marriage or lack of fund, to take a second chance at education.

Mrs West believed that except such is achieved, the girl-child cannot be said to have been given equal opportunity to thrive favourably in every area of life like her male counterparts.

The Commissioner for Women Affairs said the ministry would stop at nothing in discouraging the girls from giving up their chance at being educated in favour of their male siblings, maintaining that where a woman is educated, a nation is educated, referring to a popular saying that:

“Education is central to the development and improvement of a nation. This is because it empowers people and subsequently strengthens the nation. It serves as an eye opener to nation’s people to enable them lift themselves out of poverty.

It is obviously in recognition of this fact that two of the MDGs had to do with education: They are Universal Primary Completion, and Gender Parity in Primary and Secondary Schooling, she maintained.

she added that, education, especially girls’ education has a direct and proven impact on the goals related to child and reproductive health and environmental sustainability, insisting education also promotes economic growth, national productivity and innovation as well as values of democracy and social cohesion.

According to her, broad-based education of good quality is among the most powerful instruments known to reduce poverty and inequality. With proven benefits for personal health, it also strengthens nation’s economic health by laying the foundation for sustained economic growth.

For individuals and nations, she said it is key to creating, applying, and spreading knowledge and thus the development of dynamic, globally competitive economies. It is also fundamental for the construction of democratic societies. From the fore-going, the importance of girl child education in a nation’s welfare are;

Reduction of  inequality. In this wise, education is a great leveler, the strongest predictors of poverty. Primary education plays a catalystic role for those most likely to be poor, including girls, ethnic minorities, orphans,’ disabled people, and rural families. By enabling larger numbers to share in the growth tide that lifts all boats.

Increase in productivity and earning. Research has established that every year of schooling increases individual wages for both men and women by a worldwide average of about 10%. In poor countries, the gains are very great.

Driving of economic competitiveness: An educated and skilled workforce is one of the pillars of the knowledge-based economy. Increasingly, comparative advantages among nations come less from natural technical innovations and the competitive use of knowledge. Studies also link education to economic growth: Education contributes to improved productivity which in theory should lead to higher income and improved economic performance.

It has poverty-reducing effects: Education can virtually contribute to the attainment of MDGs. While two of the goals pertain directly to education, education also helps to reduce poverty, promote gender equality, low child mortality rates, protect against HIV/AIDs, reduce fertility rates, and enhance environmental awareness.

It reduces women’s fertility rates: women with formal education are much more likely to use reliable family planning methods, delay marriage and child bearing, and have fewer and healthier babies than women with no-formal educatton. It is estimated that one year of female schooling reduces fertility by 10%. The effect is particularly pronounced for secondary schooling.

It lowers infant and child mortality rates: women with some formal education are more likely to seek medical care, ensure that their children are immunised, be better informed about their children’s nutritional requirements, and adopt improved sanitation practices. As a result, their infants and children have higher survival rates and tend to be healthier and better nourished.

It creates intergenerational education benefits: Mothers’ education is a significant variable affecting children’s education attainment and opportunities. A mother with a few years of formal education is considerably more likely to send her children to school. In many countries, each additional year of formal education completed by a mother translates into her children remaining in school for additional one-third to half year.

Investment in girl education therefore benefits the individual society and the world at large.

Sylvia ThankGod-Amadi

Girls looking into the future, during the 2013 Universal Children’s Day celebration in Abuja recently.