By Mohammed Nasir Shuaibu (Bauchi State Correspondent)
The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education, Dr Sule Adamu Madara, has said the state government is collaborating with the World Bank to support the adolescent girls education across 20 LGA in Bauchi State.
This development, according to Dr Madara, was as a result of the gender gap discovered between them and their male counterpart in areas of educational background and life-skills development.
The permanent secretary made the disclosure to journalists during a press briefing at the weekend in Bauchi. He said it is a three year multi-sectoral project focusing on adolescent girls aged between 10-20 in the less privileged communities in the state.
He stated that the project is aimed at improving and empowering their educational background through vocational life-skills, cross education and GBV awareness to cover the gender gap between them and their male counterpart in the state.
Dr Madara explained that the project is going to capture vulnerable Adolescent Girls of ages between 10-20 years including school drop outs and people living with disabilities (PLWDs) with the support of stipends through conditional cash transfer to their respective parent's for three years period.
He disclosed that the State government on its magnanimity had paid the sum of one hundred and fifty million naira (N150,000, 000) as counterpart part funding support for the project. He added that the Ministries of Women Affairs, Health, Environment, Agriculture, Finance, Budget and Planning will work closely towards implementing the project.
The permanent secretary further disclosed that the steering committee members has set up and headed by the project coordinator, Dr. Jamila Muhammad. He said they would make all necessary arrangements for the immediate take-off of the project in two or three months time.
Dr Madara used the opportunity to solicit for media support towards educating and enlightening the people of the State ahead of the commencement of the project in Bauchi.
NIGERIAN NEWSLEADER Newspaper Correspondent reports that the States to benefits from the AGILE projects were; Borno, Ekiti, Kano, Kaduna, Katsina, Plateau, Kebbi, Bauchi, Adamawa, Gombe, Kogi, Niger, Sokoto, Jigawa, Nasarawa, Zamfara and Kwara respectively. NNL.