Launching the childrens social network at http://9jakids.ning.com !
Tell your kids Tell your nieces,nephews,cousins etc !
"I would Die for my child ! " Screamed a woman at the Bus Stop ! i listened, intially thinking she was mad but as my bus drove off i understood that statement and I agreed.It is one of those unconditional Statements.Not yet a mother but already I understand the selflessness my own mother showers upon me even at her old age and i know the privelege of being someone's child.
What would you do for your child ? Would you die for your child if you had to ?
May 27th Childrens Day . A fun Day for the kids, no school ! fun at the parade with a march past for some !
What today means to the ones blessed with rich parents or guardians is fun.For others, it means just another day of poverty,poor health and low class education.
what does today mean to you ? What kind of Future are we preparing for our kids ? We cant all leave and go abroad .think about it . we say our kids are the future but what future are we leaving behind for them.
Obasanjo once said 30years ago " the kids are the leaders of tomorrow".That tomorrow is here and OBJ and his gang are still leading our nation astray.
In this article the primary UN childkeeping force UNICEF has spoken a lot about the status of the Ni.ger.ian Child but they have not spoken about what is in store for them in the Future.A future filled with Education and Technological Advancement.A future where Engineering and Computers will play a massive role for our Nation .I wonder why Technological Education was omitted in their Press Release for today ?Their focus was the disparity between girls and boys within the educational system.
Think Well about May 27 2009 .It is Childrens day 1979 + 30years .
Noelene Joshua works for a london child care Charity fund.Thanks noel.
READ ON
N.i.g.er.i.a’s Children’s Day: UNICEF calls for accelerating progress on girls’ education
ABUJA, 27 May 2005. Today millions of children across the nation are celebrating N.i.g.er.i.a’s Children’s Day on the theme: “Educate the girl child, educate the nation”. UNICEF welcomes the choice of this theme and joins all N.i.g.er.i.an children in calling on policy makers, local authorities, religious and traditional leaders, school authorities, the media and all N.i.g.er.i.an parents to accelerate progress on educating girls.
“Providing quality education for all children is a must”, said Barbara Reynolds, UNICEF Deputy Representative. “However, because girls are participating in much fewer numbers and for shorter periods, particular attention to girls is essential, not only for the development of the country, but to fulfill the right of every child to education.” “We need to ensure that as many girls as boys attend school throughout the country, if we are to achieve universal primary education,” she added.
A recent UNICEF publication, “Progress for Children”, reporting on progress made on primary education, shows that the current rate of progress in N.i.g.er.i.a is too slow to achieve gender parity by end 2005 and universal primary education by 2015, the target dates for N.i.g.er.i.a’s achievement of the UN Millennium Development Goals. In N.i.g.er.i.a, about 7.3 million children do not go to school, of whom 62% are girls.
Last January, the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child*, in its observations of the second report submitted by N.i.g.er.i.a, expressed concerns that universal education has not been realized in N.i.g.er.i.a, partially because it is neither free, nor compulsory, despite the Constitutional guarantee. They also underlined the high illiteracy among girls and women and the gender and regional disparities in school enrolment. Recommendation was made to prioritize equal accessibility to educational opportunities for girls and boys from urban and rural areas.
N.i.g.er.i.an girls are still disadvantaged in their access to education. As a result, all do not register for school and those who register do not attend regularly, and eventually drop out or learn very little. The gender gap favoring boys has remained consistently wide in N.i.g.er.i.a over the last ten years. In the Northern part of the country, the number of children out of school is particularly high and the proportion of girls to boys in school ranges from 1 girl to 2 boys and even 1 to 3 in some States.
To address this issue, UNICEF supported the “25 by 2005” global initiative for the acceleration of girls’ education in order to achieve gender parity in 25 countries by 2005. N.i.g.er.i.a is one of the 25 countries selected for this fast track action. In 2003, the Ministry of Education adopted the Strategy for Accelerating Girls Education in N.i.g.er.i.a. In 2004, the Ministry also launched the Girls’ Education Project, supported by UNICEF and DFID, in order to focus interventions on States with lowest enrolment rate for girls.
The collaborative efforts made by government, civil society and development partners have yielded results especially in the southern part of the country as well as in pilot projects in northern States. It has demonstrated also that boys benefit from programs that are developed to improve education for girls, as boys face many of the same problems.
The Universal Basic Education (UBE) Commission has been implementing projects that provide more schools, better qualified teachers and gender sensitive textbooks and curriculum. However, to create the policy environment at the State levels were the bulk of these interventions are most required, the UBE Act needs to be urgently domesticated by all States and translated in very concrete programmes.
Educating girls is a national priority. Each year a girl is in school is a progressive step toward eliminating poverty, advancing sustainable human development and controlling preventable illnesses. Providing education, especially to girls, is also an adequate strategy for stopping the spread of HIV/AIDS. All children must have the chance to attend school. As N.i.g.er.i.a celebrates children, let’s listen to their voice asking for an equitable access to education.
Launching the childrens social network at http://9jakids.ning.com !
Tell your kids Tell your nieces,nephews,cousins etc !
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