By Nasir Shuaibu Bauchi
The Women Child Youth Health and Education Initiative (WCY) has called for stronger collaboration among government agencies, traditional and religious leaders, security agencies, civil society organisations and development partners to improve the implementation of the Bauchi State Child Rights Law and expand girls’ access to education.
Speaking at a multi-stakeholder town hall meeting Thursday in Bauchi, under the Adolescent Mothers Education Access (AMEA) Project, WCY Executive Director Rashida Mukkaddas said the initiative seeks to ensure that adolescent girls, including married, pregnant and young mothers, can enrol, remain in and complete school.
She said the project aims to ensure that every adolescent girl, including married and pregnant girls as well as young mothers, has access to quality education and is supported to enrol, return to school, remain in school and complete her education in a safe environment.
According to her, despite the existence of key legal and policy frameworks, including the Bauchi State Child Rights Law, the Gender in Education Policy and the School Re-entry Guidelines for Married and Pregnant Adolescent Girls, many children and adolescent girls continue to face violations of their rights.
She identified weak implementation of existing laws, poor awareness, weak coordination and harmful social norms as major challenges.
In his presentation, the Senior Programme Officer Kamal Ali Bello said the meeting was designed to strengthen stakeholders’ understanding of the Child Rights Law, identify implementation gaps and develop practical recommendations to improve child protection, school re-entry and girls’ education.
Mukkaddas expressed hope that an ad hoc committee would be established to strengthen and fast-track implementation of the child protection law in Bauchi State.
