FG Enrolls 3.9 Million Girls in Secondary Schools under AGILE Project

The federal government has enrolled 3.9 million girls in secondary schools across 18 states under the Adolescent Girls Initiative for Learning and Empowerment (AGILE) project.

National project coordinator of AGILE, Amina Haruna, revealed this during the project’s re-launch, themed “Madubi: Empowering Girls, Transforming Communities.”

Haruna also noted that one million girls have graduated from life skills and digital literacy training under the initiative, aimed at equipping young girls with education and empowerment opportunities.

The Adolescent Girls Initiative for Learning and Empowerment (AGILE) is a USD1.2bn World Bank flagship program targeted at addressing the multifaceted barriers faced by girls, particularly in marginalised and underserved communities in completing their secondary education.

The project is being implemented by the Federal Ministry of Education in 18 states of Adamawa, Bauchi, Gombe, Jigawa, Kogi, Kwara, Nasarawa, Niger, Sokoto, Yobe, Zamfara, Borno, Ekiti, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi and Plateau.

The national project coordinator said: “I am proud to share that, under this project, we have increased enrolment, retention and completion over the three and a half years of implementation with 3.9 million girls in secondary schools.

“We have constructed and completed over 200 Junior and Senior Secondary Schools, renovated 8,800 WASH/toilet facilities with boreholes and solar facilities.

“More than 460,949 furniture has been provided. AGILE has recruited and deployed 16,232 teachers with 50 per cent of these figures being female.

“53,491 teaching and learning materials were also provided to Schools for effective and efficient teaching and learning.”

Haruna added that schools under AGILE intervention had also developed entrepreneurial skills by setting up small scale businesses in fishponds, livestock as part of climate change to generate income for them.

Minister of State for Education, Prof. Suwaiba Ahmed said the government would soon unveil a new initiative-LUMINA to target the provision of education and vocational training opportunities to girls in hard-to-reach locations.

She said there was a need to ensure girls in hard-to-reach locations get educated.

The minister, who maintained that every young child deserved a chance to dream, noted that the government must support the girls to actualise their dreams by making sure there was increased enrolment, retention and completion of adolescent girls’ education.

Ahmed urged stakeholders to remain resolute to challenge the barriers that stand in the way of girls’ education while also creating a Nigeria where all girls could look into the new millennium.

She said: “At the ministry, we are coming up with another initiative, called ‘LUMINA’ that targets girls in hard-to-reach locations, to provide them with opportunities of education and vocational training.

“This programme that we will launch is not only for the girls, but it’s also for their mothers. It’s also for adolescent girls, and girls that have dropped out of school for one reason or another.”

Executive Secretary, Universal Basic Education Commission, Aisha Garba urged stakeholders to prioritise inclusive and gender-responsive education policies that ensure no child is left behind.

She said: “Together, we must continue to prioritise inclusive and gender-responsive education policies that ensure no child is left behind. This includes not only improving the physical infrastructure of schools but also investing in teacher training, creating safe learning environments, and introducing flexible learning models that cater to children who have been excluded from traditional schooling.

“As we continue our work on this all-important agenda, particularly through this strategic re-launch of the MADUBI campaign, I urge everyone of us to renew our commitment, deepen our collaboration, and work together to ensure that the vision of every girl in school and learning becomes a reality.

“Together, we can transform the education landscape in Nigeria, empower the next generation of girls, and build a brighter, more prosperous future for all.”