UNITED NATIONS GIRLS EDUCATION INITIATIVE

Promoting girls' eduction: The experience of Nigeria
NIGERIA, 27 May 2008 - Nigeria recognizes education as a fundamental human right and is signatory to the major conventions for the protection of the rights of children (girls and boys) and women.

First Lady of Nigeria launches the country’s Girls’ Education Initiative
ABUJA, Nigeria, 21 April, 2008 – Last month, the First Lady of Nigeria, Turai Yar'Adua, launched the Girl’s Education Initiative in the state of Bauchi, where she made a full commitment to supporting girls’ education.

Girls’ Education Project focuses on getting students back to school in Nigeria
BAKORI, Nigeria, 11 April 2007 – Full of energy, pupils run in circles on the playground of Nadabo Primary School in the small town of Bakori, northern Nigeria. They are having fun in gymnastics class, where the female teacher has them exercising.

Empowering women through literacy in northern Nigeria
BABBAN KUFAI, Nigeria, 20 March 2007 – It’s a quiet Sunday in the Muslim community of Katsina, a northern state in Nigeria. While students at the local primary school enjoy their day off, more than 80 women are crammed inside one classroom, busy learning how to read and write, many for the first time in their lives.

Pre-school classes boost girls’ enrolment in northern Nigeria
KAZAURE, Nigeria, 24 November 2006 – Enrolment of girls in early childhood development (ECD) classes is booming in areas of northern Nigeria, where local government authorities, assisted by UNICEF, are using multiple strategies to get more girls into pre-school. They hope that once girls get a taste of education, their interest in schooling will lead them to continue.

Preparing the Girl-child for National Development
Despite the Federal Government's Universal Basic Education launched with fanfare some years ago, the number of girls attending schools in some northern states of the country, remains abysmally low. This is attributed to age-long religious and cultural beliefs. However, an international organisation has stepped up efforts to stimulate the interest of both parents and the young girls into acquiring the western education, as well as developing their communities.

First Lady Laura Bush visits World Education Program in Nigeria
On January 18, 2006 the First Lady of the United States, Mrs. Laura Bush, visited the Model Secondary School Maitama in Abuja Municipal, Nigeria, to see the Ambassadors Girls’ Scholarship Program (AGSP) at work.

Nigeria: Launch of the home-grown school feeding programme
ABUJA, Nigeria, 27 September 2005 - As the new school year starts in Nigeria , the Ministry of Education launched a major national programme, aimed at providing one meal per day to all pupils during schools days.

Nigeria : UNICEF and partners create a model child-friendly school
Model Primary School, New Owerri, Nigeria, is a bold testimony that initiatives to make schools child-friendly can succeed.