The Kano State government has again been urged to prioritize the release of funds for the budget allocated for girls’ education so as to ensure adequate execution of girl child education projects in the state.
Hajiya Amina Kassim, the Coordinator of Girls Education at the state ministry of education, made the call on Tuesday at the inter-agency learning event organized by the Bridge Connect Africa Initiative in Kano.
Hajiya Amina Kasim lamented that Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf had approved the release of funds for a particular girls’ education program three consecutive times, yet there was zero execution of the project in 2024.
According to her, instead of releasing funds for budget execution, the government released money for monitoring and evaluation when there was no project on the ground to monitor.
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“The problem is not access but rather the release. The governor has given three approvals, but there was no release, and because there is zero performance in the 2024 budget, there are some certain funds that are being allocated for girls education, especially for girls of PWDs (People With Disabilities), and they have been reduced in the 2025 budget by 40 to 30%.
“I can say the budget performance for girls’ child interventions in Kano in the year 2024 is 2%. The governor gave approval thrice, but there is no release. They allocated a huge percentage for monitoring of girls child projects and released some funds for it, but there is no release of funds for the projects to be monitored.” She said.
On her part, Fatima Musa Aliyu, the Partnership and Advocacy Coordinator for the Malala-funded project, bridging access to girls’ education, said the event was organized to cross-fertilize ideas among inter-agencies and Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs).
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“The inter-agency learning event is a platform for different government MDAs to come together to share what is currently working in their different MDAs.
“We have different education-related agencies to analyze their work around how girls’ education is adequately financed. We expect them to extend the learning to their respective staff.
“Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf is trying really hard to improve girls’ education in Kano State; he is doing great in that regard.
“However, there are some loopholes, like inadequate teachers and WASH facilities in some schools, which are making it difficult for girls to cope in schools. So we appeal to the governor to intensify his efforts.” She added.