FCT schools use scholarships to keep girls in class

Some secondary schools in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) are adopting scholarships, peace-building initiatives and youth empowerment programmes to tackle school dropouts, early marriage and poverty among students with focus on girls.

At Government Secondary School (GSS), Bako, 35 indigent and orphaned students are benefiting from internal scholarships, with female students accounting for more than 70 per cent of the beneficiaries.

The principal of the school, Ibrahim Abdullahi Paisa, said the initiative was designed to support brilliant students from disadvantaged backgrounds, particularly girls who might otherwise be forced to drop out of school because of financial constraints.

“The essence of giving these 35 students scholarships is to support those within the indigent and orphan categories,” Paisa said.

“The majority are brilliant female students. Educating a girl is educating a nation, so we designed this policy to avoid dropouts and early marriage.”

Paisa spoke during a peace-building and youth empowerment sensitisation programme organised by the Change a Child Community Initiative, led by its founder, Blessing Oluchukwu Awamba.

The initiative seeks to encourage students to complement their civic education with entrepreneurship, active citizenship and environmental cleanliness.

GSS Bako currently has 258 female and 121 male students, according to the information provided by the school.

Also speaking at the programme, the Vice Principal of GSS Kwali, Mr Majin Uma, stressed the importance of early education and merit-based opportunities in promoting long-term social stability.

Uma also cautioned against societal practices such as godfatherism, urging young people to embrace values that promote responsible citizenship and community development.

School administrators said combining financial support for vulnerable students with peace-building and skills-development programmes could help young people overcome social and economic challenges.

They noted that keeping girls in school was particularly important in efforts to prevent early marriage, reduce school dropouts and equip young people with the knowledge and skills needed to contribute to safer and more prosperous communities.