FCT: Sexual harassment, maltreatment of girl child to attract jail terms

Persons guilty of sexually harassing or maltreating girls are to be punished with jail terms, the Secretary for Education, Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Senator Isa Maina, has disclosed.

Maina said it was part of new measures to protect girls, noting that increasing cases have led to poor girl-child enrollment in the FCT over the past three years.

He said it was disheartening that guardians and relations who brought these girls to Abuja with the promise to educate them often deny them access to education.

Maina also revealed that the FCT administration paid N2.8 billion to access the Universal Basic Education Commission Fund in the last one year.

He said owing to increasing cost of food items, the administration approved an upward review of school feeding from N200 to N330 per student per day.

He said that with the UBE Teachers Professional Development Training funds, 2,981 teachers, supervisors, quality assurance officers were trained.

Meanwhile, the Secretary, Health and Human Service Secretariat, Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Barrister Amanda Pam, has noted that healthcare delivery in the territory would remain poor unless the National Assembly passes into law all relevant health bills.