The Adolescent Girls Initiative for Learning and Empowerment (AGILE), says it has embarked on visitations to ascertain the implementation and progress of AGILE projects in beneficiary states.
Mrs Amina Haruna, National Project Coordinating Unit, AGILE, said this in a statement made available to newsmen in Abuja on Sunday.
She said this was part of preparations for the take-off of the project.
The AGILE Project is a five-year initiative of the Federal Government with support from the World Bank.
It aims to improve secondary education opportunities for adolescent girls in the implementing states as well as empower them to earn living.
The implementing states are: Borno, Ekiti, Kano, Kaduna, Katsina, Kebbi, and Plateau.
While embarking on the visitation in Ekiti, Haruna said the team wanted to find ways it could be of assistance to ensure effective project implementation for optimal results.
She said there was 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.
Meanwhile, the Ekiti State Project Coordinator, Mrs Oluwayemisi Alokan, said the project would lead to the utilisation of the School Improvement Grants (SIG), for the renovation of existing infrastructure in schools in the state.
Alokan said their were challenges faced in implementing the project but subsequent efforts were 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.
They ascertained the ongoing construction and renovation in accordance with the World Bank’s prescribed construction and renovation standards.
The team 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 Prof. 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 include: 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 U.S dollars with prospects of improved funding. (NAN)