By David Odama

CONCERNED by the near neglect of girl child education in Ebonyi state, stakeholders in Ohaozara East Development Area in Ohaozara local government Area have called for adequate investment in the girl-child education to address the imbalance and neglect of the female children education in the state,

They have also strongly believed that educating female children produces healthier, wealthier and safer society as such there should be more investment in the education of the female children that have been neglected of the years.

Making the appeal during a sensitization forum at Okposi, the member representing Ohaozara East Constituency, Hon (Mrs) Chinwe Lilian Nwachukwu, lamented that despite government efforts at bridging the gender gap in education in Ebonyi State, girls were still at risk of dropping out of primary school even making it more difficult for the female to transit to secondary school to complete with their men counterpart.

According to the Lawmaker, the low rate of female children being deny right to education in Ebonyi especially in Ohaozara East Development Area in Ohaozara local government Area has become a source of concern to most of the schooled and called for a change to address the imbalance and the neglect.

She enumerated barriers to girl-child education to include direct and indirect costs of education, attitudes and practices, health-related problems, crisis and instability, location of school, poorly designed curriculum, lack of good legislative framework, poor enforcement of existing laws and poor funding of the sector.

“There should be a legislative framework that will seek to protect and promote girl child education, local security apparatus that will protect the girl child from sexual and other forms of harassment”.

The stakeholders forum which drew over 50 participants selected from different interest groups including traditional rulers, town union leaders, parents-teachers association, religious leaders, market women association, youth, coordinators of different developments centres and the local government chairman
deliberated on the roles of parents, community and religious leaders in promoting girls’ rights to education at the family and community level outlined the role of school authorities and teachers in promoting the rights of girls to education within the school environment, and what the government is doing
.

The stakeholders in the meeting were unanimous in the decision that each village should form an education committee to supervise and monitor overall transition and enrolment rate especially the girl child.

The paramount ruler of Ugwulangwu, His Royal Highness, Onyibe Dr Cosmas Agwu who spoke on behalf of other traditional rulers, appreciated the stakeholders for the initiative and urged the federal, state and Local governments to abolish all forms of discrimination against the right of female children having access to girl- child education adding that every child should be given equal opportunity to education.

The meeting however advocated for more attention and focus on the girl-child education, monitoring group should be set up to supervise the transition or enrollment rate of girl into primary and secondary schools.

They also advised that scholarships should be secured for especially the girls who cannot afford the cost of education from primary to tertiary levels while a legal framework be instituted against parents who will not sponsor or discriminate against their girl-child education..