From Oluseye Ojo, Ibadan
Scores of girls selected across secondary schools in Oyo State have set agenda on girl-child education for the second-term of the state governor, Seyi Makinde, that will begin on May 29, 2023, articulating their expectations.
The girls set the agenda for the government during the screening of a 21-minute documentary — Breaking Barriers: The Journey of Girls Education in Nigeria, held at Filmhouse Cinema, Samonda, Ibadan, Oyo State. It was was organised by a non-governmental organisation, Onelife Initiative in partnership with Youthhub Africa and with support from Malala Fund.
The Executive Director of Onelife Initiative, ‘Sola Fagorusi, explained that the idea behind the documentary and bringing the female secondary school students to a cinema was to give them a new learning experience.
“We also want to hear from them on what they want the government and other stakeholders to do to further improve the quality of their
 education especially now that new and old political office holders will be setting new agenda at the federal and state level on education,” Fagorusi said.
The representative of the Ministry of Education, Mr. J.O. Oladapo, Deputy Director, Secondary School Services of the ministry, explained that research has pointed to the high intelligent quotient of females over the world.
According to him, the girls are being incorporated into public affairs. When girls are denied education, they are denied opportunities to showcase their talent and also contribute to nation building.
Also present at the screening were representatives from the State Universal Basic Education Board of Oyo State (SUBEB), Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), National Teachers’ Institute (NTI) and also Oyo State Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Inclusion. 6 schools were represented at the screening — Immanuel Secondary School 1 and 2, Sango; Immanuel Grammar School, Sango; Oba Akinbiyi Secondary School, Mokola; Humani Alaga Secondary School, Sango and Eleyele Secondary School, Eleyele, Ibadan.
The students on the panel were Omolaja Blessing, Eleyele Secondary School and Obiakor Esther, Oba Akinbiyi Secondary School. Others on the panel were Mrs. Abiola Oluwayemisi, Oyo State Ministry of Education; and Mrs. Omotayo Adebayo, Haven Initiative. Some of the issues raised during the panel discussion were that the data showing the number of girls out of school draws tears to the eyes and the scenes from the documentary are the reality.
Other issues also include the need to improve on the quality of prizes given to students following their participation in competitions. The need for government to also deliberately have qualified and brilliant teachers in rural community schools was also mentioned.
The issue of the school curriculum also being overly burdensome and therefore challenging to complete was also agreed upon as an issue. Asides these, it is hoped that part of the agenda for the leadership of the Ministry of Education will also be working with teachers and relevant agencies to support teachers on how to make their classes lively even where the subjects are difficult ones.
It was also suggested that girls should be allowed to also support teachers in discussing with other girls on why they need to take their studies seriously. Participants agreed with Miss Omolaja when she hinted that anything that wants to stop a girl from getting educated needs to be stopped and fought as a woman who is uneducated is unlikely to make the education of her daughter(s) a priority.