Kogi AGILE Launches Programme For Out-of-School Women, Girls

The Adolescent Girls Initiative for Learning and Empowerment (AGILE) has launched a new initiative aimed at providing access to education for disadvantaged girls and young women in Kogi State.

The ‘Second Chance Education Programme’ aims to support out-of-school girls and young women with learning and life skills in all parts of the State.

Speaking at the stakeholders’ engagement and sensitization programme in Kabba with the theme: “Second Chance Education; Restoring Hope, Rekindling Dreams, Empowering Girls and Women”, the state project coordinator of AGILE, Ahmed Tijjani Oricha who was represented by his deputy, Aminat Suleiman, said the initiative was designed to sensitise communities on the importance of giving adolescent girls another chance to pursue education.

She said many girls who dropped out of school due to poverty, early marriage or family responsibilities now have the opportunity to either re-enroll in school or benefit from vocational training that would make them self-reliant.

She urged adolescent girls to remain hopeful and determined, noting that the initiative was structured to accommodate both academic and non-academic pathways.

Component lead of the programme, Hajia Maryam Bello, described the programme as a movement to restore dignity and opportunity for young girls whose education was interrupted.

He urged community leaders, parents and stakeholders to play active roles in supporting and protecting the rights of girls, stressing that “when you educate a girl, you transform a family and when you transform families, you transform communities.”