Bauchi AGILE initiative moves to empower 16,260 girls with N5,000, N10,000 for education
Story from Hamzat Ibrahim ABAGA
The Bauchi State Adolescent Girls Initiative for Learning and Empowerment (AGILE) has announced a new strategy to encourage girls’ access to education by empowering of 16,260 girls in junior and senior secondary schools with a conditional cash transfer of N5,000 and N10,000 respectively to support their secondary education.
Dr Jamila Mohammed Dahiru, the Bauchi State AGILE Focal Person and State Commissioner of Education, revealed that each beneficiary must have an average of 80 percent school attendance in a term to qualify for the initiative.
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Speaking during a breakfast round table with the media, Dr Dahiru disclosed that the cash transfers will be provided to the beneficiaries every term to serve as an incentive for them to continue their education until graduation.
In addition to the cash transfers, AGILE will also focus on empowering girls with ICT skills through digital education programmes. This will help them become self-reliant and pursue their educational dreams in tertiary institutions.
According to her, the AGILE project aims to improve the education sector by implementing effective and efficient learning processes in a conducive environment. One of its main objectives is to give girls who have dropped out of school due to economic reasons the opportunity to return and complete their secondary education.
Under the Schools Expansion component, AGILE plans to construct and renovate 120 schools with furniture in communities that are a safe distance away and have a high population density. This will be completed within eighteen months of the first phase of the project.
Dr Jamila Dahiru also highlighted the importance of addressing the reproductive and nutritional needs of the beneficiaries. Besides cash transfers and educational support, the initiative will also provide opportunities for the girls to learn soft skills such as shoe making, tailoring, and catering.
To ensure successful implementation, monitoring, ownership, and sustainability of the project, stakeholders including parents, School Based Management Committees (SBMCs), and teachers will receive training.
AGILE is a World Bank assisted project of the Federal Ministry of Education. Its primary focus is to improve secondary education opportunities for adolescent girls aged between 10 and 20. With the introduction of conditional cash transfers and digital education programs, AGILE aims to empower girls in Bauchi State and provide them with the tools they need to succeed in their educational journey.
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