Zamfara Vows To Address Girls Education Challenges
From Ibrahim Kaulahi, Gusau
Zamfara State Government has assured taking formidable steps to address challenges that hindered girls education which positioned the state in a ranking mirror as a worrisome status, a statement by the Project Communications Officer
Zamfara State AGILE-AF Project, Bashir Kabiru Ahmad has contacted.
According to the statement, the declaration was made by the Commissioner of Education, Science and Technology and Chairman Zamfara State Project Steering Committee(SPSC) of Adolescent Girls Initiative for Learning and Empowerment(AGILE-AF), Malam Wadatau Madawaki while presiding over a Maiden Meeting with the members of the committee and State Project Implementation Unit(SPIU) Team in Gusau.
The Commissioner stated that the administration of Governor Dauda Lawal found it worth doing to declare State of Emergency on the education sector due to its unfortunate standard in the state.
He described AGILE Project as one of the key projects that will significantly improve education, adding that they are fully committed to changing the narratives to quality education in an enabling environment for teaching and learning.
Malam Madawaki called on the members of the State Steering Committee and the Project Implementation Unit to confront the challenges of the state education with serious approach and in line with Governor Dauda Lawal’s policy for rapid development.
He assured the members of the committee of his continuous support with a view to ensuring most appreciable enrollment and re-enrollment of girls to schools across the 14 local government areas of the state.
The Commissioner told the SPSC and SPIU Team that, the present administration is committed to supporting all actors in the education sector in order to record remarkable success.
In a brief overview of the project, the State Project Coordinator, Hajiya Sa’adatu Abdu Gusau disclosed that the AGILE Project is a World Bank supported project for eighteen Nigerian states through the Federal Ministry of Education.
Hajiya Abdu, said Zamfara State Governor Dauda Lawal’s administration through Commissioner of Finance, Alhaji Bello Auta, had signed the Subsidiary Loan Agreement(SLA) with the World Bank on AGILE Project which clearly signified readiness for the improvement of girls education in Zamfara State.
She further explained that the project is set to benefit all adolescents in public secondary schools, Integrated Qur’anic Schools(IQS) and community schools through a wide range of multi-sectoral interventions in Education, Gender, Health, WASH, Nutrition and population, Social Protections and Jobs.
The State Coordinator appreciated the continued support of Governor Dauda Lawal and the collaborative efforts of the members of State Project Steering Committee led by the State Commissioner of Education, Science and Technology.
During the meeting, the members thoroughly discussed on the AGILE Project Work Plan, Terms of Reference as SPSC Operational Guidelines and Continuous Advocacy and Stakeholders Engagements.
