Abubakar Askira, Education Champion

Increasing enrolment rates by creating a dialogue between community leaders, parents and students about the benefits of girls’ education

The Issue

The issue

More than a decade after the Boko Haram insurgency began, Borno state has the largest number of out-of-school children of any state in Nigeria. Afraid of additional violence and unable to afford enrolment fees, many parents are hesitant to send their daughters to school. On a national level, Nigeria’s Universal Basic Education (UBE) Act provides for just nine years of free education, preventing girls across the country from completing secondary school.

Abubakar’s approach

Community Advocacy

For over a decade, Abubakar taught animal farming and agricultural and fishery sciences at a girls’ school in Borno state and saw firsthand the challenges girls face to complete their education. Now as director of programmes and administration at Hallmark Leadership Initiative (HALI), Abubakar works to break down those barriers and help girls in northern Nigeria finish secondary school.

With his grant from Malala Fund, Abubakar and HALI train community coalition groups to identify the barriers preventing girls from going to school. They also meet with families of girls forced out of school by Boko Haram to discuss the benefits of girls’ education and help them reenrol their daughters by covering the cost of enrolment fees, uniforms, shoes and other school supplies.

With the Nigerian chapter of the Malala Fund Education Champion Network, Abubakar also meets with government officials to encourage them to pass an amendment to the UBE Act that would extend the free, compulsory education provision from nine years to 12 years and improve states’ access to UBE funds.

Abubakar’s impact

To help girls continue their education during the 2020 pandemic, Abubakar and HALI provided 200 radios to girls in Borno state so they could listen to the organisation’s educational broadcasts and keep up with their studies at home.

In 2019, HALI enrolled 150 girls in school and helped them improve their numeracy and literacy skills through remedial lessons. The organisation trained 15 teachers and mentors on how to use the children’s literacy tool Jolly Phonics to teach girls how to read.

HALI also formed girls’ clubs with more than 400 members to teach students leadership, advocacy and social media skills. The clubs gave girls the confidence and skills to start speaking out for girls’ education. Club members produced radio programmes and YouTube videos explaining the benefits of educating girls and asked parents and community members to help increase girls’ enrolment. As a result of the girls’ advocacy, the local government provided buses to help transport girls to and from school in their villages.

In 2019, HALI received the NCMG International Peace Builder Award, an award for individuals or organisations who make outstanding contributions to peace.