Crescent Varsity advocates girl- education in Nigeria

The Pioneer Islamic University in Nigeria, Crescent University, Abeokuta, has advocated that girl-child education is a veritable tool for developing the society, noting that "to train a woman is to train a nation".

Speaking on the topic 'Girl-child Education Nd National Development', the Vice Chancellor of the institution, Prof. Ibraheem Gbajabiamila made this declaration while addressing Women's Initiative Group" in Lagos recently.

Addressing a group of women at the Institute International Affairs, Lagos, Gbajabiamila expressed that "systematic exclusion of girls and women from schools and the labor force translates into a less educated work force, inefficient allocation of labor, lost productivity and consequently diminished progress in economic development".

He said it was an eye-sore seeing Nigerian children especially girls of young age hawking in traffic while they were supposed to be in schools.

Citing that education is a human right, enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the United Nations convention on the Rights of the child, Prof. Gbajabiamila advocated that girls' education is a strategic development investment which brings a wide range of benefits, not only for the girls themselves but also for their children, their communities and the society at large.

He however lamented that Nigeria might not meet the MDG target of 2020.

Appreciating Malala, the Nobel peace prize winner from South - Asia who successfully made it possible for an unprecedented number of girls to attend school, Prof. Gbajabiamila also that lamented The World Bank’s 2012 World Development Report on Gender Equality and Development – drew attention to that there are still 31 million girls out of school worldwide.

He stressed that Crescent University has produced more first-class females than males, noting that the institution's vision was to impact more on women in the society.