Calls to bridge gap between boys and girls' education

Thirty girls are set to benefit from funds raised during a walk, organised by a non-governmental organisation, to support the education of girls.

The event, held at the Siaya Stadium on Saturday, was organised by Nyanza Initiative for Girls’ Education and Empowerment (NIGEE) in partnership with Orange Kenya, Coca-Cola and the county government.

Speaking at the function Governor Cornel Rasanga’s wife, Rosella Rasanga, said the move aims to, among other things, ensure early pregnancies do not keep girls out of school.

“I will work closely with NIGEE to support education of the girl child. We know the gap between the boy and girl child is still high when it comes to education and statistics are also high for those who drop out of school. We need to work together and bring them back to class,” she said.

LOCAL SOLUTIONS

NIGEE patron Dr Kawango Ogot expressed concern that most funding comes from foreign donors yet Kenyans have capacity to take up and fully support girl child education.

“Relying on foreign countries is our major setback. We should be willing to solve our own problems and to demonstrate to the younger generation, the virtue of giving,” he said.

He said in the last five years, more than 300,000 girls in Nyanza region have dropped out of school due to early pregnancies.