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THE World Bank has approved additional financing of $700 million for Nigeria to scale up the Adolescent Girls Initiative for Learning and Empowerment (AGILE) programme whose goal is to improve secondary education opportunities among girls in targeted states.
The Additional Financing, according to the bank, will scale up project activities from the current seven states to 11 additional states and increase the targeted beneficiaries to include out-of-school girls, those who are married, and those who have disabilities.
Nigeria has over 12 to 15 million out-of-school children in the school- age group, reportedly one of the largest, with the majority of them concentrated in northern Nigeria, where secondary school completion rates among girls are lower than the southern region of the country.
There are also high levels of violence around schools and an estimated one million children affected by increased insecurity in 2020-2021, many of them may not have returned to school.
With girls being at risk from gender-based violence, an array of issues, including poverty and negative cultural practices stand as barriers to education for girls.
In the seven AGILE programme implementing states – Borno, Ekiti, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi and Plateau – the number of girls in secondary schools has increased from about 900,000 to over 1.6 million. Under the programme, over 5,000 classrooms have been renovated and over 250,000 eligible girls have received scholarships. The AGILE programme has supported construction and rehabilitation of WASH facilities in secondary schools and the installation of computers and solar panels which make attending school more convenient and conducive for both girls and boys.
Life skills, systems strengthening and advocacy are other key aspects of the programme which address social norms impeding girls’ education.
“Closing the gender gaps in economic empowerment by ensuring girls have access to education and skills is key for Nigeria’s development and economic prosperity,” said Shubham Chaudhuri, World Bank Country Director for Nigeria.
“Nigeria’s working population will soon be one of the youngest and largest around the world, which means that investing in adolescent girls is imperative when addressing overall economic prospects and growth.”
“A larger number of vulnerable girls will be reached in 18 states providing digital skills, a more conducive learning environment and life skills, towards seeing over 8.6 million girls completing their secondary education,” said Aisha Garba, the Task Team Lead on AGILE. “States will also be supported to construct community secondary schools, employ more female teachers, use energy efficient measures, and be more inclusive of girls living with disabilities.”
In addition to girls, the over 15 million students and beneficiaries of the project will also include teachers, administrators, families, communities, and staff in existing and newly constructed schools. With the additional financing the program will be implemented in 18 states and will help Nigeria to achieve better education and health outcomes for girls.
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