Parents and guardians in Birnin Ruwa, a community in Gusau Local Government Area of Zamfara State, have attributed the rising number of school dropouts—particularly among girls—to poverty and harsh economic conditions.
During a community dialogue session organized by the Adolescent Girls Initiative for Learning and Empowerment (AGILE) project in collaboration with Media Publicity Consult (MPC), several parents voiced their concerns, lamenting their inability to meet basic educational needs such as school uniforms, books, transportation, and other learning materials.
“We want our children to be in school, but the difficult economic situation has made it nearly impossible for us to shoulder the responsibilities,” one parent said during the meeting.
Some of the affected children also shared their experiences, explaining that the lack of financial support from their families forced them to abandon school.
Addressing the gathering, the Executive Chairman and CEO of MPC, Malam Nasiru Usman Biyabiki—representing Professor Abubakar Aliyu Liman—explained that the purpose of the meeting was to engage with parents and guardians on practical ways to reintegrate out-of-school children and boost girls’ enrollment in schools across the state.
He highlighted that AGILE, in collaboration with MPC, has already trained facilitators at the local government level to collect data on non-enrolled and dropout students. This effort, he said, is part of a wider strategy to tackle the root causes of low school attendance.
“I urge all parents and guardians to place the education of their children as a top priority,” Biyabiki appealed, adding that the community’s concerns and suggestions would be submitted to the Zamfara State AGILE team for further action.
The dialogue session, held at Sarkin Kudu Government Girls Day Secondary School in Gusau, was attended by hundreds of residents from the Birnin Ruwa community and officials from MPC.
