Preamble

A one-day validation meeting was convened by the African Centre for Leadership, Strategy and Development (Centre LSD) with the support of Malala Fund on the Community Led Collective Action for Girl Education project. The baseline study report validation is not only key to the achievement of the milestones on the project but also critical in the face of the challenges currently being experienced with the education of the Girl child in the Northeast.

The report validation was with the sole objective of enriching the draft report submitted by the researcher. It also provided a platform for interaction between the various stakeholders, including Adamawa State Government and its agencies, the Media, and Community leaders/gatekeepers on the trends of out-of-school girls in Numan, Song, and Maiha local government in Adamawa State.

Observations

Participants at the Validation Meeting observed the following:

1. Participants decried the rate of out-of-school children in the northeast, particularly the girl child, who have been limited by both cultural and religious practices in the focal local government areas.
2. While the concerns of out-of-school children, particularly that of the girl child, are disturbing, it is traceable to a lot of factors, including kidnapping, insurgency, and the general insecurity that pervades the country and the northeast in general.
3. Adamawa State has a unique case of out-of-school children and especially amongst girls. This challenge seems to be unending, disappointing, and requires urgent attention from all stakeholders, especially the government.
4. It was observed that the major drawback to the girl child education in the state is not only cultural but a lack of awareness on the path of the populace and particularly the girl child. This has led to various kinds of challenges including high rate of rape cases and teenage pregnancies.
5. Although the citizens across Adamawa state applauded the Centre LSD for the flag-off of the C-CAGE project, the unending challenges that characterized the education of the girl child have left citizens disappointed.
6. The CSOs mention that Sex education is not taught in the school curriculum due to religious connotations associated with Sex education, and worst of all, parents see it as taboo at home.
7. The increasing rape cases in the communities especially interior communities while passing lonely paths to school or errands is a serious concern to parent adding to more girls being out school were not added which the government had passed.

Recommendation/Resolutions

Participants at the Validation meeting resolved as follows;

1. Government, its relevant agencies, and the community/religious leaders wake up to the current realities of the education of the girl child with the view to drastically reducing the educational gap amongst girls and in line with the demands of the SDGs.
2. The government at the centre, as well as those at the state levels, and community gatekeepers must ensure adequate security of life and property, and guarantee the education and safety of the girl child anywhere they are found.
3. The government n Adamawa state must respond not only to the out-of-school children conundrum, but also ensure the enrolment of the girls and reverse the current trend in line with global expectations.
4. There is a need for sex education to be taught at both school and at home by teachers and parents, respectively, playing a major role. Civil Society organizations and the government, and its relevant agencies and actors, should ensure they create the needed awareness on the Child Rights Act in the state and the need for the education of the girl child.
5. All religious communities, especially the religious centre, need to redouble their efforts at reversing the educational degradation in the girl child through an increase in their knowledge of the school curriculum. The inhabitants of Maiha, Song & Numan will need to encourage their community leaders and enlighten people on the need to educate girls.
6. Sex education must be included in all syllabi to be taught to all children, especially girl children, and better ways of birth control measures should be taught to their homes by parents no matter their religious inclinations of parents
7. The vigilante in the community should increase their watchfulness and close gaps of those area or route to school where girls can be molested or rape while the school bodies should teach skills on how girls can safeguard themselves against rape.

Conclusion

Stakeholders commended and appreciated the African Centre for Leadership, Strategy and Development (Centre LSD) and Malala Fund for their support in putting together the baseline study report to understand the trends among school children. They restated that the situation with the girl child education in Adamawa State is worrisome and pointed out that the study could not have come at a better time than now.

Stakeholders unanimously validated the baseline study. The meeting called on relevant stakeholders to ensure that, with the information on the trends, out-of-school girls are used to strongly advocate for the education of the girl child in order to transform Adamawa for good. They also encouraged the communities and individuals to, as a matter of urgency, send their girls to school and ensure they complete their education at least to Secondary School level.

Sign:

1. Grace Mija - Community Development Office,r Numan
2. Abdulrahman Suleiman - Community development Officer, Maiha
3. Musa Ngura - Community Development Officer Song
4. Clara Mustapha - Representative of the Director General, Gotel Communication
5. Frances Igwilo – African Centre for Leadership Strategy and Development (Centre LSD)
   

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