The Kano State government says it has commenced the disbursement of N1.5 billion 2018 GPE/NIPEP girl-child scholarship to 34,698 pupils in the state.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the amount was part of the World Bank grant being disbursed under the Global Partnership for Education/Nigerian Partnership for Education Project.
Flagging-off the disbursement of the grant at a ceremony in Kano on Monday, Gov. Abdullahi Ganduje explained that the intervention was aimed at improving access to quality basic education by the girl-child.
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The governor said that the state government would augment GPE/NIPEP efforts by increasing access to quality education in the state.
Mr Ganduje said that no fewer than 34,698 primary three and four female pupils in 12 local government areas in the state would each get N45,000 under the girl-child scholarship grant.
The governor said that the state government had recruited 1,500 female Nigerian Certificate of Education, NCE, teachers in the state to enhance teaching and learning in public schools across the state.
He added that the state government had also rehabilitated 14 primary schools in the state.
“We also spent N2 billion on the procurement of instructional materials which were distributed to the schools,” he added.
Mr Ganduje called on the parents and guardians of the children to make judicious use of the grant to achieve the desired objective.
The governor thanked the World Bank and other development partners for the support.
Aisha Jafar, the state commissioner for Education said that the state government would monitor the implementation of the scholarship.
She said that no fewer than 6, 944 pupils7 benefited in 2016 while 45, 287 female pupils benefited in 2017 and 34, 698 pupils are expected to benefit in 2018.
The commissioner said that the ministry had been implementing reforms in the education sector in order to improve quality of education in the state.
A beneficiary, eight-year-old Samira Ali, said that the support would enable her to remain in school and concentrate well.
NAN
