Writing By Ali Muhammad Rabiu ; Editing By Godwin Duru
Kwara State Government has commenced the disbursement of forty thousand naira conditional cash transfers as support to at least 32,420 female students of public secondary schools.
Speaking at the flagging off of the event in Ilorin, Wife of the Kwara state governor, Ambassador Olufolake AbdulRazaq, said at least 898 public secondary schools are also to be equipped with water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) facilities to strengthen access to safe water and improve public hygiene.
According to her , the initiative is being implemented under the State Adolescent Girls Initiative for Learning and Empowerment (AGILE) project.
She described the Kwara AGILE project as a deliberate step towards ensuring that adolescent girls are given a fair chance in life to have secondary education and empowerment.
Mrs. AbdulRazaq said by empowering girls with both life skills and digital literacy skills, they are being prepared not only for academic success but also for meaningful participation in modern workforce upon attainment of adulthood.
She commended Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq for his unwavering commitment to human capital development, gender equity, and the upliftment of the female folk in the state.
The First Lady pledged continuous support of her office and her NGO, Ajike People Support Center to the state government in driving enrollment of school age children particularly the female.
In his address, the state Commissioner for Education and Human Capital Development, Dr. Lawal Olohungbebe, said the grant for adolescent girls will go a long way in stimulating their interest to enroll in schools and to curb the dropout syndrome.
“The Conditional Cash Transfer being launched today is not just financial support. It is a statement of faith in the dreams of every girl and an invitation to remain in school, stay focused, and rise above economic limitations.”
The Commissioner said the grant is not a one-off benefit as students who attend classes regularly and perform excellently would be getting an addition of N10,000 per academic term.
In his remarks, the State Coordinator for Kwara AGILE, Mr. Azeez Adeshina Salami, said the project is an initiative designed to improve access to quality secondary education for adolescent girls in all parts of the state.
He said the project is anchored on nine sub-components, including to provide WASH facilities to at public secondary schools, offer basic digital literacy training, provide alternative education for dropout girls, and to support the poorest parents of these girls through conditional cash transfers.
The Coordinator said Kwara was the first state to pay the mandatory counterpart fund of one hundred and fifty million naira, making it eligible to benefit from the world bank funding.
ALI MUHAMMAD RABIU
