The Adolescent Girls Initiative for Learning and Empowerment, or AGILE, the project will now get 700 million dollars from the Nigerian government in addition to the 500 million dollars in funding from the World Bank.
According to the government, this increase brings the overall funding for the AGILE project to 1.2 billion dollars.
According to AGILE’s communication officer, Ms. Linda Irabor, the boost will help with initiatives to strengthen senior secondary education and give teenage girls more possibilities for empowerment.
11 state governments, according to her, have expressed interest in taking part in the AGILE project.
She stated that the project was now one of the largest World Bank-sponsored, gender-focused projects in West Africa due to the increase in financing.
Malam Adamu Adamu, the minister of education, was also described by Irabor as being pleased with the project’s new money.
The Minister claimed that the success shown in the existing implementing states, particularly in the use of the School Improvement Grants and Conditional Cash Transfer Scholarships, served as the driving force behind the additional financing.
The minister asked additional states that were interested in the project to take the appropriate steps to be eligible and involved.
Task Team Outing for AGILE
Hajia Aisha Garba, the lead of the AGILE Task Team, gave a presentation about the project’s overview and clarified the requirements for participation at an earlier outing.
According to Irabor, Garba emphasized the requirement that states with an interest develop more supportive policies for senior secondary education in their individual regions.
The AGILE National Project Coordinator, Mrs. Amina Haruna, urged the states to take all necessary steps to meet the requirements for participation in and benefit from the AGILE project 2023 in her presentation.
According to Haruna, it would also provide the states a chance to better the conditions for young women in their communities.
According to Irabor, Dr. Muhammad Idris, the Yobe Commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education, lamented the lack of effective advocacy for girl-child education in the country’s northern regions.
Idris asked for more awareness of girl-child education in the area while stressing the commitment of the Yobe state administration to put the required steps in place to be eligible to participate in the AGILE initiative.