A Non Governmental Organisation (NGO), Women Environment and Youth Development Initiative (WOYODEV), has called for free education to reduce the incidence of girl child early marriage in the country.
Mrs. Tosin Ajayi, the Executive Director of WOYODEV, made the call on Thursday in Ilorin during a stakeholder’s meeting tagged: “Implementation of second phase of ‘End Child Bride Project”.
She stated that the ‘End Child Bride’ Initiative had been able to profile over 6000 girls in Kwara State, with about 150 girls supported to go back to school.
Ajayi observed that the organisation has been successful in ensuring some of the girls go back to school, adding that some are in their final year in school.
She recalled that earlier at the first phase of the meeting, it was decided that it is not enough to advocate at the state level but to go to the grassroot and set up mechanism for holistic support for the girl-child.
According to her, this support will ensure the girl-child would not be married off early and exposed.
The Director, Ministry of Women Affairs, Mrs Mariam Yusuf, however, charged law enforcement agencies to help in implementing Child Right Act to make parents understand better.
She reiterated that early child bride portends danger to the girl-child, adding that education would remedy such occurrences.
Yusuf, therefore, appealed to parents to ensure their children/wards were in school and girl child should not be forced into marriage.
Also speaking, Antonia Omonogoh of the Child protection Network said “free and compulsory education should be well implemented by the government”.
“Education should be free as stated in the law to take care of school lockers, chairs as well as Parent/Teacher Association (PTA) fees”, she added.
Omonogoh was of the view that providing free education in its totality would encourage parents who might not be able to afford PTA fees, lockers and chairs fees, adding that such parents would be encouraged against girl-child marriage.
Adewoye Olusesan from the Civil Society Action Coalition on Education for All (CSACEFA) advised teachers against extorting parents in the guise of PTA levy.
He observed that such “teachers are illegally making their livelihood from PTA levies, which was not meant to be”.
