Damaturu:The Adolescent Girls Initiative for Learning and Empowerment (AGILE) has started training local government facilitators and mobilisers to enhance community awareness and drive behavioral change for girl-child education throughout Yobe’s 17 local government areas.
According to News Agency of Nigeria, the inception and onboarding training for AGILE’s Component 2.1 began on Monday in Damaturu, in partnership with Spotlight for Transparency and Accountability Initiative. The project aims to tackle barriers that prevent girls from enrolling in school and completing 12 years of formal education across the state.
AGILE’s Project Coordinator, Abdullahi Bula, outlined the project’s focus on improving access, retention, and learning outcomes for girls by addressing social, economic, and institutional barriers to education. Component One involves constructing 50 new secondary schools for girls and rehabilitating 225 existing schools statewide.
Component Two is centered on creating an enabling environment, wi
th sub-component 2.1 focusing on training to encourage behavioral change and combat harmful social norms. Bula highlighted that some parents’ attitudes towards girls’ education are a significant barrier to their school enrollment and completion.
Sub-component 2.2a of the project offers life-skills training on personal and menstrual hygiene, while 2.2b focuses on digital literacy by providing schools with desktop computers. Sub-component 2.2c offers Second Chance Education through non-formal centers, providing out-of-school girls with literacy, numeracy, and livelihood skills.
Sub-component 2.3 includes conditional cash transfers to support girls in JSS1 and SS1 with school materials during critical education transitions.
Muazu Alhaji Modu, Executive Director of Spotlight for Transparency and Accountability Initiative, explained that his organization was chosen as consultants for Component 2.1 due to their extensive grassroots network. The organization’s presence across Yobe’s 17 local government areas make
s it well-positioned to support community mobilization and advocacy for girls’ education.
Modu stressed that AGILE is a Nigerian government initiative implemented by state governments, specifically designed by the Yobe government to address local educational challenges and improve opportunities for girls. The engagement is set to last 22 months, starting with a pilot phase in seven local government areas, including Damaturu, Tarmuwa, Fune, Potiskum, Fika, Bade, and Karasuwa, before expanding statewide by the fourth quarter of 2026.