The Universal Basic Education Commission has renewed efforts to return girls who dropped out of school to formal education, with particular attention to teenage mothers and those forced out by poverty and other social pressures.
UBEC Executive Secretary Aisha Garba spoke during the commissioning of the rehabilitated Alternative High School for Girls in Agboju, Amuwo Odofin Local Government Area of Lagos State.
Garba said the school was designed to give young women whose education had been interrupted another opportunity to complete secondary school and acquire practical skills.
She stressed that early pregnancy, financial hardship and other difficult circumstances should not permanently exclude girls from learning.
The renovated institution has more than 26 classrooms spread across two blocks, together with laboratories for agriculture, physics and biology.
It also includes vocational facilities for cosmetology, garment making, hairdressing, catering and home economics as well as a library and information technology centre.
Speaking on behalf of the First Lady, Nana Shettima encouraged the students to use the opportunity to rebuild their future and combine academic learning with vocational development.
Ibijoke Sanwo Olu, representing the Lagos State Governor, described the project as a fresh start for beneficiaries and said investment in girls’ education strengthened families, communities and the wider society.
UBEC said another Alternative High School for Girls was being rehabilitated in Ikorodu.
The commission pledged to continue working with state governments and other stakeholders to expand alternative learning opportunities and skills programmes for girls who cannot remain in the conventional school system.
Officials said the wider objective was to create pathways that allow young women to return to education, become self reliant and participate more fully in the economy.
