The Federal Government has promised to intensify efforts to mitigate community resistance to the implementation of the ongoing Adolescent Girls Initiative for Learning and Empowerment (AGILE) project.
The AGILE project focuses on enhancing educational opportunities for adolescent girls, tackling cultural and socioeconomic barriers to education
Speaking during the AGILE project’s Implementation Mission on Monday in Abuja, the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Education, Dr. Nasiru Sani-Gwarzo, said the government would douse resistance to the project through advocacy.
He pledged: “I am making a commitment to support the AGILE programme by removing community resistance and backlash in fighting the challenges of rejection through community advocacy.
“There are so many controversies surrounding the understanding of the AGILE project, and I am willing to personally and officially support it.
“Our approach includes infrastructure development, provision of WASH facilities and instructional materials, community engagement, and awareness campaigns to foster a supportive environment for young girls.
“We have also strived to strengthen the capacity of Schools Based Management Committees (SBMCs), equipping them with the resources required to sustain these initiatives and foster community ownership and sustainability”, Sani-Gwarzo assured.
In his remarks at the event, the World Bank Country Director for Nigeria, Dr. Ndiame Diop, commended the Nigeria government’s commitment to youth empowerment, describing education of adolescent girls as a smart economic investment.
The banker maintained that educating girls is not just the right thing to do, but it’s also the smart thing to do because it brings economic benefits.
“One of the best ways to empower adolescent girls is through education and economic opportunities, and that is exactly what AGILE is doing”, Diop added.
Earlier in her address, AGILE Project National Coordinator, Mrs. Amina Buba-Haruna, said that the project targeted girls aged 15-20, focusing on safe learning spaces, better infrastructure, and life skills.
According to her, through the project, the ministry has been able to train 20 master teachers in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and 200 teachers in specialised areas.
She explained that while the project primarily focused on girls providing second-chance education for out-of-school girls aged 15-22, including those with special needs, boys had also benefited from its implementation.
Currently, the project is being implemented in 18 states and designed to reach over 25 million beneficiaries, including 15.2 million students, with 8.6 million being adolescent girls, out-of-school girls, and girls with disabilities.
The states already covered in the project’s implementation are Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Ekiti, Gombe, Kebbi, Jigawa, Kaduna, Katsina, Kano, Kogi, Kwara, Plateau, Nasarawa, Niger, Yobe, Sokoto, and Zamfara.
