Kaduna State Government is committed to the success of the Adolescent Girls Initiative Learning Empowerment (AGILE) programme of the World Bank as it has put necessary policies in place to ensure its implementation.
The state coordinator of the AGILE programme, Hajiya Maryam Sani Dangaji recalled how Governor Nasir El Rufai visited the World Bank 11 times to ensure that Kaduna state is part of the programme.
Hajiya Maryam disclosed this at the opening of the induction training for teachers, which held at the Kaduna State University (KASU).
She said that the project seeks to address the identified constraints that the girl-child faces in accessing and completing secondary education, adding that Kaduna state is among the seven states where the project is being implemented.
Kaduna State Teachers Service Board has conducted induction training for 2,000 teachers engaged under the AGILE project.
AGILE is a World Bank supported project which seeks to empower girls through education, life skills and digital literacy, developed by the federal government as part of education reform agenda.
The state coordinator also stated that main objective of the AGILE is to improve secondary school opportunities among adolescent girls of 10-19 years with three components.
According to her, the first is creating safe and accessible learning spaces; the second component is empowering the girl with critical life skills; the third component is about strengthening capacity of officers and teachers.
Also speaking at the event, Commissioner of Education, Hajiya Halima Lawal, said the objectives of AGILE is not just to ensure that the girl child is in school but to also overcome major challenges.
Hajiya Halima listed the challenges to include gender-based violence, female genital mutilation, rape and hawking on the streets while others are attending school.
Besides improving life skills, the AGILE project also improves existing infrastructure in schools, by making them safer, more accessible and inclusive, she added.