As part of preparations for the take-off of the Adolescent Girls Initiative for Learning and Empowerment (AGILE) Project, the National Project Coordinating Unit, (NPCU), has started visitations to the beneficiary states to ascertain their levels of implementation and progress.
The Communication Officer, AGILE Project, Ms Linda Irabor disclosed this in a statement issued on Sunday, August 7, 2022.
Ms. Irabor explained that the AGILE Project was a 5-year initiative of the Federal Government with support from the World Bank to improve secondary education opportunities for adolescent girls in the implementing states of Borno, Ekiti, Kano, Kaduna, Katsina, Kebbi, and Plateau, as well as empower them to earn their living.
She stated that the NPCU visited Ekiti and Katsina States, recently. In Ekiti State, the NPCU led by the National Project Coordinator, Mrs. Amina Buba Haruna, said the team was in the State to find ways it could be of assistance to ensure effective project implementation for optimum results.
Mrs. Haruna emphasized the need for synergy among team members, and with the State Government so as to achieve the goals of the AGILE Project in the state.
The State’s Project Coordinator, Mrs. Oluwayemisi Alokan, took the NPCU to the Project’s construction sites to inspect and assess the standard of work being done especially in the utilisation of the School Improvement Grants (SIG), for the renovation of existing infrastructure in schools in the State.
Mrs. Alokan disclosed the challenges faced by the State Project Implementing Unit, (SPIU), and the subsequent efforts made to address them.
The visiting team also met with the State Commissioner for Education, and Permanent Secretary, Science and Technology, Ekiti State Ministry of Education, Dr. Kofoworola Aderiye, and Dr. Folakemi Olomojobi, respectively.
They expressed delight at the visit and pledged their commitment to the success of the AGILE Project in the State.
In Katsina State, the State Project Coordinator, Mr. Mustapha Shehu, also took the NPCU team around the Project’s sites to ascertain if the ongoing construction and renovation were in accordance with the World Bank’s prescribed construction and renovation standards.
The visiting team subsequently commended State’s Project Implementing Unit (SPIU) on the standard of work and advised it to partner with the Ministry of Agriculture, alongside community youths on the planting of trees in the targeted schools to mitigate the challenges of Climate change.
The team also held a meeting with Katsina State’s Commissioner for Education, Associate Professor Badamasi Charanchi.
The Commissioner expressed delight at the visit, expressing Government’s commitment to the improvement of Girl-child education in the State.
Part of the facilities inspected in Ekiti and Katsina States includes: school buildings being constructed or renovated, laboratories, libraries, hotels and their Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene, (WASH), facilities.
The AGILE Project has World Bank support to the tune of 500 million dollars with prospects of improved funding.
