Scotland's government said it would be writing to every headteacher in the nation asking them to train their staff and educate parents about female genital mutilation.

The intervention by the Scottish education secretary comes in the wake of a Guardian campaign to raise awareness in schools which has gathered more than 126,000 signatures since it launched.

Michael Russell said he would be writing to every Scottish headteacher calling on them to train teachers and parents about the warning signs and risks of FGM.

"A key part of eradicating the practice entirely is education – which is why I, alongside equalities minister Shona Robison, will be writing to headteachers across Scotland in order to reach out to teachers and parents on this very difficult issue."

Asking the UK's education ministers to write to schools about female genital mutilation is the core demand of a campaign led by 17-year-old Fahma Mohamed to help stamp out the barbaric practice. Government figures say 20,000 British girls are at risk of being cut every year.

She praised Holyrood for taking a bold step towards tackling FGM.

Mohamed said: "I want to congratulate Scotland for stepping up to the challenge and listening to us – it shows that it is amazing what you can achieve with dedication and passion.

"I'm overjoyed that girls in Scotland will be safer and above all it will protect the next generation by breaking the cycle of abuse."

The move was at odds with the Department for Education in Westminster, which remained silent on the issue and did not answer questions from the Guardian.

Mohamed, part of a Somali family who moved to Britain when she was seven, said: "I have a question for Michael Gove – is he scared of me? I'm just a student who is passionate about this, and apparently he just wants to ignore this issue and hope it will go away."

Norman Baker, the Home Office minister and government lead on FGM, has said he would be writing to Gove to draw his attention to the Guardian's campaign, while the Liberal Democrat president, Tim Farron, and his party colleagues Julian Huppert and Greg Mulholland tabled an early day motion in parliament calling on the government and education department to do everything in their power to stop the practice.

On Friday night the shadow health secretary, Andy Burnham, backed the Guardian's campaign and praised the government for showing leadership on the issue after it introduced a duty on hospitals to report new cases and funding for training and raising awareness.

"There are lots of areas where I would want to criticise the government but to be fair to them they have rightly prioritised this issue. Credit to the Guardian too for the same," he said.

The National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) joined campaigners and activists calling on Gove to show leadership on FGM. Its general secretary, Russell Hobby, said that the NAHT had called on the government to update advice on FGM in schools and that Gove should take the lead on the issue.

"For this reason NAHT strongly endorses the Guardian's petition calling on the secretary of state to take the lead in encouraging schools to address this issue seriously," he said. "Schools can make a difference because of the trust in which they are held. NAHT believes that FGM exceeds the limits of tolerance in our society."

Headteachers echoed the call to action. Gladys Berry, the head of Highbury Fields school in London, which ran a programme of lessons with pupils last year, said: "Headteachers need a letter from the Department of Education; some will be anxious about the reaction from different parts of the community so they need to feel that it is appropriate and necessary to teach FGM in their school.

"Unless we can educate children in the classroom, cases will not come to light and we will not know about those who are at risk."

Another London headteacher, Bavaani Nanthabalan, added: "The Department of Education has never communicated with schools directly on FGM or given us any guidelines. It is a hugely sensitive issue.

"A supportive letter from Mr Gove encouraging us to raise awareness of this issue in schools would help schools address this serious problem in a sensitive way. Schools can do more to protect girls at risk of FGM with the right support from the government."

Leyla Hussein, herself a victim of FGM and one of Britain's most high-profile campaigners, said she couldn't understand why the Department for Education was so reluctant to write to schools directly.

"It's amazing that Michael Gove can write a letter to headteachers telling them to improve discipline in schools and not write a letter about making it mandatory to teach FGM. I just don't get it." Hussein, who described Mohamed as "incredibly brave", added: "Education has always been the missing link when it comes to fighting FGM."

Nimko Ali, who founded the campaign group Daughters of Eve with Hussein, said: "Every other minister has spoken out on this. Gove is the only one that hasn't. I just don't think he cares about the social wellbeing of children; it is only about academic achievement. He doesn't want to talk about a child's safety, but he will talk about Latin. It's like he doesn't care and that is very sad."