From a global perspective, the girl child is considered vulnerable to several societal ills. This perception is more pronounced in developing countries, where the belief is that there is the need for effective policies to safeguard the girl child from violence, limited access to education, neglect, abuse, gender disparities and other negative trends.

There is growing concern around the world that urgent actions need to be taken to address these challenges and education and empowerment initiatives have been identified as the needed tools. In celebrating this year’s International Day of the Girl Child on October 11, the attention of stakeholders from around the world was focused on issues surrounding the girl child.

The theme of this year’s celebration was “Girls’ Progress = Goals’ Progress: A Global Girl Data Movement”. This special day was set aside to raise public awareness on girls’ right and highlight gender inequalities that are widespread worldwide. The latest UN statistics show that there are 1.1 billion girls in the world today.

These girls represent an opportunity to shape a sustainable world that’s better for everyone. However, their dreams and potentials are often thwarted by lack of opportunities and discrimination. Like other developing countries, the girl child in Nigeria is not immune to these challenges. A peculiar case is that of the 276 girls kidnapped in a school in Chibok, Bornu State.

The negative experiences of these girls have become a rallying point for the challenges faced by the girl child worldwide. The day also helped reveal the efforts made by governments at various levels to educate and empower the girl child. Worthy of note are those undertaken by Osun state. Before Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola assumed office on November 27, 2010, the public education system was in a bad state such that only students whose parent couldn’t afford private schools were left in public schools.

Facilities of these public schools were not only dilapidated, students’ performance in both internal and external exams were at an all-time low with tuition fees in the state owned tertiary institution outrageous. The situation has however taken a positive turn since the advent of his administration. The government has also placed priority on girl child education.

Presently in the state, there are 622,726 students between the elementary, middle and high school. Of these number, 309,488 are females and 313,238 are males. This is a laudable achievement that dwarfs the average expectation for developing nations.

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