BY Ebunoluwa Olafusi
Taiwo Olatunbosun, commissioner for information in Ekiti, says the World Bank Adolescent Girls Initiative for Learning (AGILE) has surpassed its primary target of enhancing school enrollment.
Olatunbosun said the initiative has assisted economically disadvantaged students, promoting academic achievements and reducing the number of out-of-school children in the state.
Olatunbosun spoke in Ado Ekiti after an assessment tour of the projects across the state.
The commissioner attributed the achievement recorded by AGILE programme to the commitment of the state government and diligence of the project implementation unit (PIU).
He described the project as appropriate and in tandem with the government’s resolve to provide qualitative education at all levels as enshrined under the human capital development agenda of the six pillars of the Biodun Oyebanji-led administration.
He explained that the commitment of the administration to educational excellence necessitated the declaration of free and compulsory education at both primary and secondary school levels in the state.
He added that the move has helped in raising school enrollment in the state to one of the highest in the country.
He added that Oyebanji also pledged the readiness of his government to forge strong partnerships with intending private investors to strengthen education, assuring that the war against Illiteracy and school dropout will be total under his administration.
He added that the state government paid N6.2 billion as counterpart funding to benefit from the Universal Basic Education fund and deployed another sum of N400 million to offset debts owed contractors handling projects at the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) as part of efforts to build and sustain the education sector.
PROJECTS EXECUTED UNDER AGILE SCHEME
Highlighting the projects executed in the state under the AGILE scheme, Olatunbosun said 613 toilets, 923 classrooms, 31 school perimeter fences, 59 boreholes have been constructed.
He said 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 which culminated in 16.9 percentage increase in enrolment from 111,546 to 130,357 in public secondary schools in the state.
The commissioner said the state is also set to commence the second chance education programme tagged ‘Ekiti State Girls’ Finishing School’ in September.
He said admission forms are already out, free of charge, for interested adolescent girls between the ages of 10 to 20 that did not finish schooling but are willing to re-enroll to complete their education.
Olatunbosun explained that the programme is specifically targeted at individuals who, for a variety of reasons, never attended or left school before the completion of their education.
Olatunbosun said the programme would provide value-based education in basic numeracy and literacy, along with psychosocial support services such as group and individual counseling, expressive therapy, and sexual reproductive rights education aimed at reducing vulnerability of girls to gender-based violence, early marriage and other harmful practices through the provision of education and opportunities.
“The target is to provide an opportunity for adolescent girls to thrive, regardless of their background or circumstances with an opening for them to acquire proper education akin to the kind and level of education that is normally acquired in childhood or youth during the initial first cycle of education and rise above their previous circumstances,” he said.
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