Niger pays N1bn girl child education counterpart fund

The Niger State Government has paid N1bn in counterpart fund to the UNICEF-assisted Girl Child Education Programme.

The Commissioner for Education, Alhaji Danladi Abdulhameed, said this on Monday in Minna while receiving executive members of the Parent Teachers Association of Government Girls' Secondary School, Minna.

Abdulhameed said the state government and UNICEF had successfully implemented the first and second phase of the programme.

He also said the ministry and UNICEF had signed a Memorandum of Understanding on the third phase of the programme.

The programme, he said, had greatly enhanced access to education for the girl child judging from the high enrolment figures in schools.

The commissioner reiterated government's commitment to the success of the programme.

In his remarks, the Chairman of the school's PTA, Alhaji Sule Danyaya, said the delegation had visited the commissioner to seek a change in the name of the school to Jummai Babangida Aliyu Secondary School, Minna.

Danyaya said the decision was taken in appreciation of the contribution of the governor's wife to boosting girl child education through her pet project, Life Rehab Foundation.

'The decision to name the school after her was not taken over night as we went into consultation with all the stakeholders.

'We reached the resolution after considering Hajiya Jummai Aliyu's input in the girl child education initiative.

'The only thing we can do is to reward her,' he said.

Danyaya also appealed to the commissioner to help furnish the school's physics and chemistry laboratories built by the PTA with apparatus and infrastructure. NAN