Bauchi State AGILE Project partner Media Organisations on implementation, M&E, Sensitisation.
By Abubakar Baba Ahmad.
The Adolescent Girls Initiative for Learning and Empowerment (AGILE) Project in Bauchi State says over sixteen thousand girls have been captured as beneficiaries under the Conditional Cash Transfer CCT component of the project in the state.
The State Project Coordinator and Focal Person Dr Jamila Dahiru stated this at a breakfast meeting with Media Executives, State Project Implementation Unit SPIU and other stakeholders on the level of preparation for the commencement of the project.
Dr Jamila Dahiru said the beneficiaries who are between the ages of 13 and 16 would be receiving a token of five to ten thousand each term if they have an eighty percent attendance record to serve as motivation for retention and completion at both upper basic three and SS three levels.
She noted that under the Schools Expansion component, the project would see to the construction and renovation of 120 schools with furniture at communities of safe distance and saturation of population within the eighteen months of the first phase of the project.
According to the Focal Person, sixty schools would be provided with ICT facilities with five thousand SS one students as beneficiaries of the digital skills from the selected schools.
Dr Jamila Dahiru who highlighted the importance of reproductive and nutritional needs of the beneficiaries under the intervention, also emphasised that soft skills such as shoe making, tailoring, catering among others would form part of the components.
She further disclosed that apart from thirty non formal learning centres captured under its schools improvement grant and second chance education, stakeholders to include parents, SBMCs and teachers would be trained to ensure proper implementation, monitoring, ownership and sustainability.
According to Dr Jamila, the SPIU has already embarked on Study Tour to some selected beneficiary states to ensure that all challenges encountered in the project implementation were avoided.
She also used the medium to appeal to Media Executives in the state support the project in the area of advocacy and sensitisation towards changing the negative indices and narrative of out of school children especially among girls to ensure inclusion and gender balance.
All media organisations at the meeting lauded the project team for its efforts so far and pledged readiness to give all needed support and assistance towards the successful implementation of the target objectives.
The AGILE project has three main components designed for implementation to include Safe and Accessible Learning Spaces, Fostering an Enabling Environment for Girls as well as System Strengthening and Project Management.
