_Nyahama Japhet_
The Adamawa State Commissioner of Education and Human Capital Development Dr. Umar Garba Pella, has described the role of principals as critical in the implementation of the Adolescent Girls Initiative For Learning And Empowerment (AGILE-AF).
Dr Pella described the Adolescent Girls Initiative For Learning And Empowerment (AGILE) World Bank project in collaboration with the Adamawa State Government as a stitch in time that will turn around the education fortune of the girl child, hence the need to engage principals as key stakeholders.
The Commission,r who was represented by the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Education, Aisha Muhammed Umar, made this known while declaring open one-day Engagement And Sensitization of 100 Selected Senior Secondary Schools Principals On Life Skills.
The program,e which was held at the Conference Hall of the Adamawa State Universal Basic Education Board (ADSUBEB,) brings together principals from selected schools across the state and the Schools Base Management Committee (SBMC).
While addressing the principals, Dr Pell revealed that principals play significant roles in ensuring education at the secondary school level,l hence the need to engage them to ensure the success of the AGILE project in the state.
He revealed that the Northern region seems to have received the AGILE project with mixed reactions due to beliefs and misunderstanding of the significant role it will play in the lives of their children, especially the girl child.
He called on the principals and the SBMCs to go all out and launch an awareness campaign on the importance of the project and ensure its sustainability in their various communities.
He called on parents to grab the opportunity AGILE project provided in the state, which seeks to offer both financial, skills and morale support for their children, especially girls, within the school environment, by sending them to school irrespective of their present condition and status.
Dr. Pella maintained that gladly the state Governor, Ahmadu Fintiri, has set the pace by giving all the necessary support to the education sector, calling on the principals to key into the agenda of the Governor through the opportunity the World Bank project offered.
On his part, the State AGILE Project Coordinator Engineer Siddiki Liman revealed that the AGILE project seeks to reach out to the wider Adamawa community, saying that it is important for the principals to know their roles and responsibilities and what is expected of them as key stakeholders in the project implementationon.
He revealed that AGILE is currently working to ensure that the components guiding the implementation of the project are followed meticulously to ensure the project achieves its main objective.
He called on all the SBMCs to take ownership of the project, making sure all that is provided for the smooth takeoff and implementation of the project is put to use and ensure it is sustained to the later.
He explained that the project has three components, which include Creating Safe and Accessible Learning Spaces, Fostering an Enabling Environment For Girls and Project Management and System Strengthening.
While presenting overview of the project, the State Monitoring And Evaluation Officer of AGILE Mr. Bathon Hyelda Ati, said that several measures has been put in place to ensure each item on the project component is achieved as planned.
He revealed that the project is on ground in the state considering the Governor’s commitment in fulfilling his own part of the bargain.
He revealed that the major targeted beneficiaries of AGILE project are adolescent girls within ages 10 to 20 in AGILE implementing states in Nigeria.
He further revealed that out of the 36 States of the Federation only 18 states are benefiting from the project, noting that the project started with 7 states and when the impact of the project was felt 11 other states came onboard including Adamawa State.
According to him the case of out of school children is more prevalent in the North which is why must of the 18 participating states are from the Northern part of the country.
This according to him was the reason AGILE came onboard to give the girl child opportunity to go back to school to be better people in the society.
He stated that while the project seeks to capture many schools however, he maintained that school with more enrollment stand the chance to benefit more funding.
He revealed that for those parents who couldn’t afford to send their children to school, AGILE is going to take up the responsibility of funding the girl child.
He emphasized that as the project fund the educational needs of the girl child, measures has been put in place to ensure the gesture is not compromised by either the parent, caregiver or the school.
Some of the beneficiaries of the project who spoke to our reporter in an interview revealed that before AGILE came onboard their are Gender Based issues where the girl either dropped out of school as a result of unwanted pregnancy or poverty and the likes.
They expressed commitment to maximize the opportunity provided by the World Bank and Adamawa State Government to ensure that more girls especially the downtrodden are enrolled into the western education system.