Unicaf Nigeria, AWLO celebrate International Women’s Day with online event

March 12, 2021

Reps urge FG to increase education budget from 2022 James Kwen, Abuja The House of Representatives has urged the Federal Ministry of Budget and National Planning to give further considerations to Education in the subsequent budgetary allocations, beginning from 2022 in order to attain the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) projection by 2030. According to UNESCO, for a nation to achieve the goal of providing quality education for all by 2030, the country would have to allocate at least 26 percent of its national budget to education. However, Nigeria’s budgetary allocation for Education in the last five years is 7.38% in 2017, 7.03% in 2018, 7.05% in 2019, 6.7% in 2020 and 5.6% in 2021, a far cry from the expected standards. It is based on this premise that the House called for Federal Government consideration on Tuesday while adopting a motion on; “Urgent Need to Address the Falling Standard of Education in Nigeria” moved by Johnson Ganiyu from Lagos. Moving the motion, Ganiyu noted that quality education is a crucial tool for the economic growth of any country, thus Goal 4 of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is focused on ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education and promoting life-long learning opportunities for all. He also noted that Section 18 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) provides that the Government shall direct its policy towards ensuring that there are equal and adequate educational opportunities at all levels. The lawmaker said he was: “Aware that Nigeria’s education system within the last decade has been on a steady decline, ranging from influx of illegal institutions of learning as well as unqualified teachers in the system to poor funding, overcrowding and plethora of decaying infrastructure in schools across the Federation. “Also aware that according to the United Nations, Nigeria has one of the largest populations of out-of-school youth in the world, with more than ten million Nigerian children, 60 per cent of them girls, not in school and will therefore not have the skills they need to get jobs and build secured and stable future. Ganiyu acknowledged that Nigeria has achieved some progress in expanding access to school under the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the domestic Universal Basic Education (UBE) Scheme, however, the expansion has not resulted in improved learning, as the flat learning curve in Nigeria is a proof that getting children to school does not automatically translate to adequate infrastructure, qualified teachers, conducive learning environment, frequent attendance, grade progression, effective classroom governance and more importantly, learning. He expressed concern that the adverse effects of falling standard of Education to a nation is very grave, and the fall in educational standard in Nigeria implies a continued decline in its level of economic growth. The lawmaker also expressed concern that with the current population of about 200 million, 45 per cent of which are below 15 years, there is high demand for learning opportunities translating into increased enrolment which has created challenges in ensuring quality education since resources are spread more thinly. Ganiyu was worried that the burden on education in Nigeria has become even more overwhelming, resulting in more than 100 pupils to one teacher as against the UNESCO benchmark of 35 pupils per teacher; culminating in students learning under trees for lack of classrooms and other harsh conditions. He said if no urgent action is taken, the problem will gravely affect the young and future generations as well as stifle the economic and social developmental prospects of the country.

Unicaf Nigeria and the African Women in Leadership Organisation (AWLO) honoured women on the 8th of March with a joint online event on women, education and leadership, presented via Zoom.

AWLO is a non-profit organisation which aims to enhance the leadership potential of women in Africa, in order to benefit the development of the region.

Speaking on behalf of AWLO, its founder and CEO, Elisha Attai said, “Quality Education is important in the wake of a volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous world…. Currently, women are the most untapped reservoir of human capital, and quality education will shine the light on their talent.”

The Chartered Institute of Personnel Management of Nigeria (CIPM) promotes excellence in People Management.

The registrar of CIPM, Busola Alofe, spoke about the importance of lifelong learning.

“Education is all about learning throughout our lives… Without quality education for all women, the huge potential of half the global population to create and grow value will remain untapped,” Alofe said.

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Unicaf’s international marketing manager, Marisol Barajas, underlined that “education is an important tool for achieving gender equality, as it can empower women and give them the confidence to change the world”.

Unicaf creates equal opportunities for quality higher education for both women and men. Online learning can benefit millions of women in remote areas, working mothers, physically disabled women, or stay at home mums to transform their lives. To this day, Unicaf has awarded 100 million dollars’ worth of scholarships and has helped change more than 30,000 lives.

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The International Women’s Day online event concluded with the award of the prizes to the three winners of the Unicaf essay competition ‘The importance of empowering women leaders in Africa through quality higher education at times of crisis’.

Habibat Oyiza Ibrahim, 25, won the first prize. She holds a Bachelor in Geology and Mining, runs an online store selling fashion items and is the manager at a poultry farm! She intends to use her prize, a full Unicaf Scholarship, to study for an online Master’s in Computer Science with Unicaf University.

“I am optimistic that if women are given equal chances at education, someday many women leaders will say “I came from No-where to Now-here because I was educated,” Ibrahim said.

Second prize winner Chinelo Linda Okafor, 32, received an 80 percent scholarship for a Master’s degree with Unicaf University plus N77.000 in cash. Chinelo holds a BTech in Mathematics and Computer Science and has worked her way up to IT Product Manager for a technology start-up.

Speaking at the event, she said, “Women with a higher qualification are more likely to run for political office, and become involved with the decision-making process, to help stop gender discrimination. When a higher level of education is attained by the majority of African women, we can build a formidable Africa that will thrive economically and socially, and will be able to withstand any crisis.”

Third winner, Angelica Nneoma Daniel, 25, holds a Bachelor degree in Mass Communication. She works for a Communication Technology Company and is a freelance writer/producer for an online platform for women empowerment.

Receiving her prize of a 75 percent Unicaf Scholarship for an online Master’s degree with Unicaf University plus a free tablet, Daniel said, “Women’s rights are human rights, so we should be offering everyone equal rights, respect and equal opportunities to succeed, regardless of their background. The education of women is the first major step to achieving gender equality.”

More than 200 people, mostly women but also a number of men, from different parts of Nigeria, attended the Unicaf Nigeria/AWLO online celebration of International Women’s Day 2021.