Alumni seek N20 million to improve girl-child education

• Task govt to prioritise women participation in governance
Queen of the Rosary Old Girls’ Association (QROGA) has urged the Federal Government to place more emphasis on funding the girl-child education nationwide.

The alumni of the female school, Queen of the Rosary Secondary School, Gboko, Benue State, who made the call during a fund-raising event for N20 million for the renovation of library and other facilities in the school, organised by the Lagos State branch of the association, said the girl-child education is not being given enough attention in the country.

National President, QROGA, Judith Hirnyam, who spoke at the event, said it was necessary to fund colleges solely for girls, as many have existed for over five decades with their infrastructure dilapidating, making the environment not conducive for learning.

“Many of the infrastructure have dilapidated and we need to pay attention to them. The funding of education generally is not as good as it should be and there could be an improvement in that regard. She stressed that alumni associations have a crucial role to play in the development of their alma mater, especially at this difficult time when government and other proprietors are facing challenges.

Also, the Guest Speaker and Founder of LEAP Africa, Ndidi Nwuneli, who spoke on theme, “Maximising Your Life’s Potential,” stressed on the need and importance of supporting the girl-child to enable her achieve success in her life.She said women are assets and not liabilities, while she criticised the government for having few women in authority.

“There is so much pressure on the girl-child and under this current administration, we haven’t seen women in position just like the previous administration. In fact, out of the ministers we have, there are only three women, which is not acceptable.”

“There are capable women who should be in position of authority in this country and I think we have to fight for those rights of women,” she maintained.She noted that, though the rise in the country’s population as projected has been a concern, especially the implication, the future of the girl-child should be protected and supported to enable them stand firm and contribute to the progress of the nation’s economy.

Speaking on the funds being raised, the Vice President, QROGA, Lagos Branch, Dr. Monica Eimunjeze, said: “We are looking towards renovating the library in the school to support access to education, the initiatives and structures that exist, because maintaining those facilities in our country is a challenge for the school authority and we deemed it necessary to give back to the school and be able to impact positively and ensure more girls are educated, which will have impact on the society. When you have educated women, you have educated the whole community.”