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national and organisational information and<br />

communication technology (ICT) policies and<br />

strategies cannot be overstated. While IT alone<br />

cannot end gender inequality, it can go a long way<br />

in catalysing social change and empowerment. IT<br />

helps in poverty reduction and for the economic<br />

empowerment <strong>of</strong> poor women in <strong>Nigeria</strong>. 10<br />

Through the DRGs-MDGs fund, the Federal<br />

Ministry <strong>of</strong> Women Affairs and Social<br />

Development has partnered with NGOs and other<br />

civil society organisations <strong>to</strong> conduct trainings for<br />

sec<strong>to</strong>ral programme/operational direc<strong>to</strong>rs on<br />

gender. Construction <strong>of</strong> VIP <strong>to</strong>ilets through the<br />

Quick-Wins constituency projects have been<br />

found <strong>to</strong> encourage girl child enrolment (previous<br />

M&E exercises discovered that girls refused going<br />

<strong>to</strong> school because they had <strong>to</strong> share <strong>to</strong>ilets with the<br />

boys). CCT programmes, which engage both<br />

women and men, have shown that women<br />

managed fund more resource<strong>full</strong>y than men, and<br />

the programmes have been found <strong>to</strong> be<br />

economically useful outside agricultural (farming)<br />

jobs. Other projects that are girls inclusive<br />

included the Social Safety Net, Conditional Grants<br />

Scheme, and Youth Skills Acquisition<br />

Programmes.<br />

There are four indica<strong>to</strong>rs <strong>to</strong> this goal (ratio <strong>of</strong> girls<br />

<strong>to</strong> boys‘ enrolment in all levels <strong>of</strong> education;<br />

literacy rate <strong>of</strong> women <strong>to</strong> men between the ages <strong>of</strong><br />

15-24; share <strong>of</strong> women in wage employment in the<br />

non-agricultural sec<strong>to</strong>rs; and number <strong>of</strong> seats held<br />

by women in the national parliament), all designed<br />

<strong>to</strong> measure the achievement <strong>of</strong> the overall MDG 3.<br />

The OSSAP-MDGs have been doing much<br />

<strong>to</strong>wards achieving indica<strong>to</strong>rs 1-3 but activities<br />

<strong>to</strong>wards improving the number <strong>of</strong> seats held by<br />

women in national parliament were not submitted<br />

10 www.w-teconline.org<br />

<strong>to</strong> the NMET for M&E. The activities carried out<br />

for this indica<strong>to</strong>r included advocacy for political<br />

empowerment <strong>of</strong> women at zonal <strong>of</strong>fices for<br />

political empowerment <strong>of</strong> women for which<br />

N70,000,000 was reportedly spent.<br />

Findings<br />

Education Sec<strong>to</strong>r-based Indica<strong>to</strong>rs<br />

The achievement <strong>of</strong> MDG 3 is hinged on, amongst<br />

other things, two indica<strong>to</strong>rs embedded in the<br />

education sec<strong>to</strong>r. These are the increase in the<br />

enrolment <strong>of</strong> girls in primary, secondary and<br />

tertiary educational institutions; and the increase<br />

in the literacy rate <strong>of</strong> young women between the<br />

ages <strong>of</strong> 15 and 24.<br />

Increased Enrolment in Primary, Secondary and<br />

Tertiary Levels <strong>of</strong> Education<br />

The gender gap favouring males has been a<br />

challenging issue over the years. As a result, the<br />

female gender hardly compares <strong>to</strong> the number <strong>of</strong><br />

males in public <strong>of</strong>fices and other appointments.<br />

Between 2005 and 2009, gross primary school<br />

“Some parents had <strong>to</strong> withdraw their<br />

children from other schools and bring them<br />

here after the supply <strong>of</strong> furniture.” Mrs F. T.<br />

Amoko, Assistant Head Mistress, St. Marks<br />

Anglican Primary School, IboropaAkoko, Ondo<br />

State.<br />

“New pupils have been enrolled in<strong>to</strong> our<br />

school as a result <strong>of</strong> the new school desks<br />

supplied by OSSAP-MDGs…”Head Master <strong>of</strong><br />

Idumozie Primary School, Igbodo, Ika North<br />

East LGA<br />

enrolment ratio was 99% for male as against 87%<br />

for female, while net primary enrolment ratio was<br />

64% for male as against 58% for female. Net<br />

primary school attendance ratio between 2005 and<br />

Page 29 <strong>of</strong> 150

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