As part of a measure to ensure more persons benefit from Adolescent Girls Initiative Learning and Empowerment (AGILE) in Sokoto State, no fewer than 54,200 adolescent girls are expected to benefit from conditioner cash transfers in the state.
The state coordinator of the project, Dr Mansur Buhari, stated this in his remarks during the maiden Bi-Annual media roundtable organized by the team.
He said the conditioner cash transfer is expected to be disbursed to adolescent girls between now and the end of the year with the target of schools with low enrollment of female students.
He said, “The conditioner cash transfer is expected to encourage girls back to school without any hindrance.
“The program which initially commenced from seven states in the country has now been extended to eighteen states across the country.
“It is aimed at providing infrastructural development support to our schools, especially where adolescent girls are dominant and not in any way affect the curriculum of the school.
“The major components of the school are to create new learning spaces in secondary schools in the construction of new blocks of classrooms and improving on the existing ones.
“We are also fostering an enabling environment for girls, promoting social and behavioural change through communication, campaign, engagement with traditional rulers and advocacy.
“We will educate our people to change their conception about educating our girls and empowering our girls with critical life skills knowledge for navigating adulthood and digital literacy.”
Speaking on the achievements of AGILE in the pioneer seven states he said about 1,614,545 adolescent girls have benefited so far in different categories which include: “6914 non-functional classrooms renovated and currently in use across the states.
“84,000 teaching and learning materials delivered to school and in use for learning, 6,714 WASH facilities constructed with separate toilets for boys and girls.”
He, however, disclosed that as part of the programs for the project this year in the state, a total number of 367 schools is expected to be renovated which includes 260 Junior secondary schools and 107 senior secondary schools.
“It also includes another 56 new schools already planned to be constructed in the state this year with both Junior and senior secondary schools having 28 numbers each.”
In his remark, the state commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education, Tukur Alkali, who was represented by Bashiru Ibrahim, Director education resource centre, said the media roundtable is very apt in dissemination of the right information.
He assured that the ministry will continue to engage with AGILE in order to achieve its target for the adolescent girls in the state.
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