The Ministry of Education Youth and Sport in collaboration with its partners including UNICEF is observing this week as ‘Girl Child Education Week’ on the theme: Invest in Girls’ Education: Make our Schools Free of Sexual Exploitation.

The Education Specialist at UNICEF, Merriall Davies, said the theme for this year’s celebration was selected out of the realization that the negative effect of sexual abuse on the girl child was one of the barriers to their emancipation.

Mrs. Davies said the observance of the week would be used to educate the public about the importance of retention of girls in schools.

The UNICEF Education Specialist said girls were dropping out of school at an early stage owing to what she described as traditional barriers such as female genital circumcision and the negative belief by some parents that the home was the rightful place for girls.

She said this year’s observance would be climaxed by a Parliamentary forum, during which girls would discuss the major barriers to their child educational ambitions; and also proffer workable solutions.