By Ruth Oginyi
The European Union/United Nations, EU/UN, Spotlight Initiative in partnership with the Reproductive and Family Health, ARFH and the Safe Motherhood Ladies Association, SMLAS, has organized an Inter-School Quiz Competition on the elimination of violence against women and girls for schools in Ebonyi State.
The competition which started at the zonal level was aimed at early enlightenment of children on gender-based violence, harmful practices, family life and Health Education in the school.
The competition took place at the Cooperative Hall of the Federal Teaching Hospital, Abakaliki II, FETHA II, Abakaliki a few days ago with Girls High School, Azuiyioku emerging as the overall winner with 11 points while Ezza High School Amuzu and Community Secondary school Izzikworo, Okofia Ezza South took second and third positions with 10 and 6 points respectively.
Spotlight Initiative is a European Union and the United Nations funded project to eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls in six selected states in Nigeria.
Speaking during the quiz competition, a representative of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, UNESCO, Spotlight Initiative leading the implementing partner in Ebonyi State and Southeast in general, Conscillia Ifeanyi, said the competition was put together to sharpen the knowledge of the school children on how to speak up against all forms of violence against women and girls.
On her part, the representative of the Association for Reproductive and Family Health, Beatrice Okpe charged the school children to apply the knowledge garnered from the competition in their immediate environment and everyday life.
Beatrice said the inter-school quiz competition was organized to assess the students’ level of assimilation on their previous lessons on gender-based violence.
One of the students, Amaka Ogbu from Girls High Gchool, Azuiyioku commended the association for their thoughtfulness in their selection and selfless services to humanity and pledged to put the lessons into good use.
She advocated that the competition should be stepped down to schools in rural communities as most of the gender-based violence are been perpetrated in the hinterland, even in government schools.
The students noted that some teachers in the rural communities’ schools violate the rights of the students on the course of giving them class punishment and the students are dying in silence.
The quiz competition featured Army Day Secondary School; Girls Secondary School, Azuiyiokwu; Community Secondary School Izzikworo, Okofia Ezza South; Ezza High School Amuzu; Modern Girls Secondary School, Ndiebor; Glory Land High School, Abakaliki and Modern Secondary School, Echara, Ezza South.