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The First Lady, Oluremi Tinubu, has described her support for the education of the girl child as a response to the yawning gap in girls’ education in Nigeria.

She made this known while launching the Alternative High Schools for Girls on Tuesday in Osogbo, the Osun State Capital.

The First Lady noted: “This ceremony marks the beginning of an opportunity for a new chapter and a chance for a promising future for exceptional young girls and women who evolve through the door of this school. I introduced the idea of the establishment of an alternative high school for girls, a vision that was accepted and utilised by the Lagos State Ministry of Education in 2007 when my husband was the governor of Lagos State, and this particular school still runs to date.

“My motivation as an educationist and a lifelong teacher stems from a desire to see young girls and women who dropped out of school due to unplanned pregnancies, cultural barriers, economic and financial reasons and many more, have a second chance to acquire higher education and valuable skills to enable them reach their full potential in life.

“In a world where every girl deserves the opportunity to try and reach their fullest potential, it’s sad to witness the barriers that stand in the way of their education. No doubt, without education, girls will lack the necessary skills to support themselves and access information to make informed decisions about their health and future.”

She also maintained that the rate of school dropout was a stark reminder of the need for alternative solutions to educational pursuits.

She therefore revealed that Osun State was chosen as the location for the school through a transparent and unbiased raffle process at a strategic meeting with the state first ladies.

In his address, Governor Ademola Adeleke assured the First Lady that his administration would follow up and provide needed support to ensure a robust operation upon completion of the school. Adeleke assured that his administration is also committed to supporting girl child education.

We have introduced a series of programmes that strengthen the capacity of families to provide basic needs. Hence, we emphasise workers’ welfare as a critical first-line item in our five-point agenda.

We also focus on stopping the crisis of sexual violence against women. To that end, Osun is the first state to implement the resolution of the Nigeria Governors Forum on action against sexual violence. We have met with the Ministry of Women’s Affairs and resolved to set up mobile courts to try domestic sexual violence matters. Additionally, we are compiling a list of unfairly jailed girls and women to get them released. This is in addition to an agenda of empowering women through the cooperative loan scheme.”

In his address, the Executive Secretary of Universal Basic Education, Dr Ahmed Bobboi, hailed the contributions of the Adeleke administration to the growth and development of universal basic education in the state.

According to him: “The administrations records enhance the confidence of UBEC and the Office of the First Lady that the new school will realise its targets and even surpass them.”

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