By Ishaq Hardawa
The Adolescent Girls Initiatives for Learning and Empowerment AGILE in Bauchi State is targeting over 20,000 female students for enrollment into its conditional cash transfer programme in the State.
The State Project coordinator Alhaji Ali Sule Gar made this known during a meeting with enumerators for data capturing of the beneficiaries in the 100 selected schools across the State.
Alhaji Ali Sule Gar explained that the essence of the meeting was to have first hand information on the challenges the enumerators faced in the field during the previous exercise, as the portal for the continuition of the enrollment would be open this week.
…..” We closed our portal during holidays but now since students resume back to school we are going to open the portal to continue with the data capturing”
“….We are calling on all members of the public that they should send their wards to school especially Jss1 and SS1…” Ali Gar Urges.
He said so far the project has already enrolled over 9,000 out of over 20000 female students designed to benefit from the Programme.
“……I want to at least inform the members of the public that financial service providers that’s the Banks have already started sending the account numbers of the beneficiaries to the caregivers but one thing that I come to realise is that, some of the caregivers when we sent them the account numbers they used to delete it.
…So please if you received message from FCMB please it’s from AGILE Ministry of Education don’t delete it…” The State Coordinator explain
The AGILE State Coordinator urged the enumerators to redouble efforts to achieve the set target.
Alhaji Ali Gar Commended Governor Bala Muhammad for supporting the program aim at improving Students enrollment drive in the State.
“…..Since His Excellency has already approved the renovation of the schools and give also the schoolership to the Girl Child, I don’t know what is stopping the Caregivers from sending their Children to School”
Earlier the AGILE Component Lead on Conditional Cash Transfer of the Project, Khadija Abdulkadir expressed dismay on the poor turnout of the female students in the selected schools and appealed to the parents to enroll their female children into schools to enable them become productive members of the Society.
Hajiya Khadija maintained that the AGILE Project has come with unique opportunities of empowering the female students and to improve the standard of education in the state.
” Up to now we are not able to reach the target number provided for Bauchi State, so please parents allow your girl child to come to school as the enumerators will soon go back to the field…” Hajiya Khadija noted
On his part the Monitoring and Evaluation Lead Officer of the Project who also spearheaded the meeting Malam Dahiru Ahmad assured that solutions would be provided on the challenges identified during the data capturing exercise of the enrollees in the past.
Malam Dahiru Ahmad also mentioned some of the project components to include digital literacy aim to equiping the students with digital skills.
“…For the digital literacy is a component also in the AGILE which aim of engaging the students male and female to get digital skills and knowledge which are hoping at the end of their carriea it will help them on how to operate devices”
Some of the Challenges identify by the enumerators include mismatched of date birth of the caregivers on BVN and NIN, poor Internet Network in some communities and lack of full support from some school Managers among others.
It could be recalled that the AGILE Project Additional Financing is being implemented in Bauchi State to Improve enrollment, transition and retention of girl child in schools and empowerment.
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