The World Bank-supported Adolescent Girls Initiative for Learning and Empowerment (AGILE) Project has improved learning conditions for at least 778,000 students in Katsina State.
The State Coordinator, Abubakar Abdulhamid, disclosed this at a two-day media roundtable on the implementation of the project’s communication strategy in Katsina.
The event was organised in collaboration with the state Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education.
Abdulhamid said the project, supported by the World Bank and the state government, was addressing inadequate infrastructure, poor sanitation, limited learning materials and barriers to girls’ education.
He said 75 new secondary schools were initiated under Phase One, with 69 completed and handed over, while 581 schools received grants for priority improvements.
He added that 3,099 classrooms had been renovated and 279 new ones constructed. The project also facilitated the rehabilitation of 5,286 toilets and the construction of 747 new facilities.
According to him, the project supplied 236,382 student desk sets and 955 teachers’ desks, while 401 junior and senior secondary schools received sports facilities.
He said fencing had been completed in 19 schools to improve the safety of students, teachers and school property.
Abdulhamid said AGILE also provided life skills training, mentorship, digital literacy and financial assistance to encourage adolescent girls to remain in school.
He disclosed that 113,572 girls had enrolled in life skills training, while 50,400 had completed the Safe Space programme curriculum.
The programme was operating in 161 secondary schools, supported by 824 trained mentors working with participating girls.
On digital education, Abdulhamid said 200 secondary schools had received information and communication technology (ICT) facilities, internet connectivity and 10 kVA solar power systems.
He added that 71,132 students had enrolled in digital literacy training, while 730 teachers had received training to promote technology-assisted teaching.
The coordinator further disclosed that 104,111 schoolgirls had benefited from conditional cash transfers designed to ease financial pressures on families and encourage parents to keep their daughters in school.
He said the project was introducing Alternative Learning Spaces to help girls who had dropped out of formal education resume learning and acquire practical skills.
According to him, 77 alternative learning centres were planned across Katsina’s 34 Local Government Areas, targeting 21,000 adolescent girls.
He said 10 centres had been identified, while about 1,000 girls had commenced learning under the pilot phase.
Abdulhamid explained that the centres would provide foundational literacy, numeracy, livelihood skills and life skills to rebuild beneficiaries’ confidence and improve their economic prospects.
Also speaking, the AGILE Deputy Coordinator in Katsina, Muhammad Auwal, said the project addressed inadequate school facilities as well as social and economic barriers to girls’ education.
Auwal said improved classrooms, desks, teaching materials and toilets, alongside school grants and conditional cash transfers, were helping families overcome educational challenges.
He added that bringing schools closer to communities could reduce travel distances and minimise the risk of girls dropping out.
However, he identified harmful social norms and other community-level barriers as challenges requiring sustained attention.
Auwal called for stronger collaboration among government agencies, the media, parents, community leaders and other stakeholders to promote girls’ education.
He stressed that effective communication and continuous community engagement were essential to helping families understand the benefits of educating girls and expanding access to the project.
The AGILE Project seeks to improve access to secondary education, strengthen learning environments and empower adolescent girls through infrastructure development, digital learning, life skills training and targeted financial assistance.
