Adolescent girls have the right to a safe, educated, and healthy life, not only during these critical formative years, but also as they mature into women. If effectively supported during the adolescent years, girls have the potential to change the world – both as the empowered girls of today and as tomorrow’s workers, mothers, entrepreneurs, mentors, household heads, and political leaders. (source, United Nations).

In 2020, the United Nations recently commemorated 25 years since the adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action – the global agenda for advancing the rights and empowerment of women and girls, everywhere. Generation Equality was also launched in early 2020 as a multi-year, multi-partner campaign and movement for bold action on gender equality. 25 years on, progress for adolescent girls has not kept pace with the realities they face today, and COVID-19 has reinforced many of the existing gaps. The United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 4 is on Quality Education, with Target 4.1 – “By 2030, ensure that all girls and boys complete free, equitable and quality primary and secondary education leading to relevant and effective learning outcomes”.

With over 10 million school-age children reportedly out of school in Nigeria, Education remains a luxury in many Nigerian homes, especially families in rural communities. Issues like gender discrimination, disasters and armed conflict, language challenges, household poverty, child labour, and child marriage have contributed to depriving many Nigerian children, especially the girl-child of their right to access quality education. Since the onset of COVID-19, millions of children in Nigeria have been stuck at home not learning. For vulnerable and disadvantaged children, the impact has been worse. There is now a real risk that millions of children forced out-of-school by the pandemic won’t ever return.

A positive correlation exists between the enrolment of girls in primary school and the gross national product and increase of life expectancy. In view of this correlation, enrolment in schools represents the largest component of the investment in human capital in any society. To bridge this enrolment gap, it becomes imperative to address the major economic hindrance to the enrolment of more girls in school: their TUITION.

Education is a fundamental human right and is indispensable for the achievement of sustainable development. We are only able to empower girls, combat climate change, fight inequality and end extreme poverty if all stakeholders, including business, commit themselves to advancing the education goal.

As the world comes together this year on October 11 to mark the International Day of the Girl-Child, we see this as yet another un-missable opportunity to cast the spotlight on the need to encourage and support the enrolment of more girls in school, with a focus on indigent girls.

Riding on this year’s IDG2020 theme, “My Voice, Our Equal Future” She Forum Africa is delighted to present the “Her Tuition, Her Voice” Campaign through a special partnership with the Embassy of Finland, Nigeria.

About “HER TUITION, HER VOICE” Campaign

The “Her Tuition, Her Voice” Campaign is aimed at supporting indigent girls from grassroots communities gain high-order thinking and quality action learning education.

Launch Schedule:

Virtual Launch Date: Day of the Girl-Child - Sunday, 11th October, 2020

Campaign End Date: Finland Independence Day – 6th December 2020

We want to raise and fund Secondary School Tuition for 25 indigent girls from grassroots communities in Nigeria. The choice of 25 is to commemorate the 25 Years Anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, in the most practical way. 25 Girls out of over 10 million out-of-school children in Nigeria feels like a drop in the ocean but we have to start somewhere until we can leave no girl behind. Education provides a foundation for growth and development but Tuition is the Key to the classroom. It is time to prioritise on this important gap.

Modality

To operationalise this target, we have identified and partnered with an academic institution/Service provider with a tested and dedicated priority focus on indigent students. We want to see 25 indigent girls enrolled in school for the new school year. You can make this happen.

About our Target Service Provider: The KNOSK N100-a-day Secondary School, Kuje Nigeria is an existing public-private school designed for children from low income families. For N100-a-day/30 cents a day, school children get books, uniforms, one meal a day and the girls get monthly sanitary pads.

The KNOSK is offering children from low income families, quality action learning education that equips young people from low income families with the knowledge, skills and resolve that they need to break the cycle of poverty. While students can pay as low as N100-a-day, this amount sums up to only a fraction of what it cost to access education at the KNOSK School. The difference is sourced for publicly through social media crowd-matching campaigns where people opt to either co-sponsor a child by matching that child with any amount of choice. Some individuals and organizations opt for full sponsorship of an indigent child who is currently unable to afford the N100-a-day School fees.

The full sponsorship covers the child's termly school fees of N66,000. (sixty-six thousand Naira only). For the three terms in one academic year, this figure comes to N198,000.00 (one hundred and ninety-eight thousand naira only). To see one child, safely through school for 6 years of Secondary Education, this figure comes to N1,188,000.00 (one million, one hundred and eighty-eight thousand naira only). This does not take into consideration expected economic changes.

What does the termly school fees of N66,000./child Cover: Tuition, Books and stationeries, School Uniform, Daily Lunch and Sanitary Pad.

We do not want to reinvent the wheel, the KNOSK Model is a tested solution that is silently bridging the poverty gap to open up access to education for indigent families. With more assured support, they can do more.

Outline of Commitment Requirement for interested Partners

Her Tuition, Her Voice TARGET for Phase 01: Raised Funding to cover the 6 years Secondary School Tuition of 25 indigent girls, estimated at N29,700,000.00 (Twenty-nine million, seven hundred thousand naira only). 25 Girls out of over 10 million out-of-school children in Nigeria feels like a drop in the ocean but we have to start somewhere until we can leave no girl behind.

Subscription Plan for interested partners:

Fund Her Tuition for one School Term only N66,000.00

Fund Her Tuition for 1 School Year (to secure 3 school terms) N198,000.00

Fund Her Tuition for 3 School Years (to secure her Junior or Senior Secondary) N594,000.00

Fund Her Tuition for 6 School Years (to secure her full Secondary Education) N1,188,000.00

Subscriptions may be multiplied along the lines of preferred number of girls and/or number of School Years/girl subject to organizational or individual preferences.

Our target for Phase 01 represents a practical, low-hanging fruit and realistic route to deliver impact in the most meaningful way for indigent girls. These modest efforts will also enable us contribute to achieving SDG 4 (Quality Education), SDG 10 (Reduced Inequality) and SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals).

Sustainability Plan: The Campaign will leverage other related International Observances and convened activities to roll out renewed calls for subsequent phases of the Campaign.