By Ayodele Oni
Boasting of success in the World Bank assisted Adolescent Girls Initiative for Learning (AGILE), Ekiti state is set to launch another education programme ‘Ekiti State Girls’ Finishing School.’
The programme is expected to start in September, and will focus on adolescent girls between the ages of 10-20 that did not finish schooling for various reasons including financial challenges, Living with Disabilities, domestic violence, gender-based violence (GBV), early marriage and pregnancy but are willing to re-enroll to complete their education.
The state commissioner for Information, Taiwo Olatubosun spoke in Ado Ekiti after an assessment tour of AGILE projects across the State.
Olatunbosun pointed out that the World Bank assisted Adolescent Girls Initiative for Learning (AGILE) surpassed its primary target of enhancing school enrolment, assisting economically disadvantaged students, promoting academic achievements and reducing the number of out-of-school children in the State.
He attributed the achievement recorded by AGILE programme to the commitment of the State Government and diligence of the Project implementation Unit (PIU), describing the project as appropriate and in tandem with Governor Oyebanji’s resolve to provide qualitative education at all levels as enshrined under the Human Capital Development Agenda of the six pillars of the administration.
Olatunbosun recalled that the State was the first sub-national in the country to launch the AGILE project at the State level in April, 2023 when the wife of the State Governor, Dr. Olayemi Oyebanji officially flagged off the scheme in Ado-Ekiti.
The commissioner said that AGILE has substantially boosted conducive teaching and learning environment in the State with the colossal overhaul of infrastructure in 203 public schools through School’s Improvement Grants classified into small, medium and massive categories.
Highlighting the projects executed in the State under the AGILE scheme, Olatunbosun stated that 613 toilets, 923 classrooms, 31 school perimeter fences, 59 boreholes were constructed while 2,470 teaching and learning materials including charts, maps, graphs, posters, textbooks, educational software, lab equipment and 4,012 pieces of furniture were also procured.
This, he added, culminated in 16.9 percentage increase in enrolment from 111,546 to 130,357 in public secondary schools in the State.
According to him, Governor Oyebanji has repeatedly stressed his believe that “ideas rule the World and the only way you can get idea is through knowledge, while the only means to acquire knowledge, is through education.
“We therefore decided to prioritize access to quality education because we also know that the quality, relevance and functionality of education are very important.”
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