The Niger State Government has expressed its determination to build 54 schools and renovate 534 others in the state through the State’s Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education using the loan facility provided by the World Bank Assisted Programme: Adolescent Girls Initiative For Learning and Empowerment (AGILE) project.
This was stated in a press statement signed and made available to journalists on Monday in Minna by Malam Jibrin Usman Kodo, the information officer of the State Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education, who added that the purpose of the statement was to clarify an earlier report that the World Bank was to construct and renovate the stated number of schools for the state.
The said report was allegedly captured at a 1-Day sensitisation workshop for zonal quality assurance officers on roles and responsibilities of school-based management committees and support development of school improvement plan.
The statement noted that during the workshop, the deputy state coordinator, AGILE, who was said to have represented the state coordinator, Malam Salisu Danjuma, also disclosed that the 54 schools to be constructed comprised of 27 junior secondary schools and 27 senior secondary schools, emphasising that the renovation work would be handled by the school-based management committees.
According to Salisu Danjuma, under AGILE project, girl child education will be supported in the most vulnerable and poorest local government areas to increase enrollment drive of girl child and reduce high rates of drop out due to lack of support and poverty.
Earlier, in his address, while declaring the workshop open, The Permanent Secretary, Niger State Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education, Dr. Wasa Jonathan K. who was represented by the Director, Planning, Research and Statistics of the Ministry, Abdulmalik Nungbe, tasked the quality assurance officers to maintain proper monitoring to ensure that quality works were done.
He also advised them to see the project as their own and take appropriate steps towards improving the performance of the project in the state.
According to Jibrin Usman Kodo, in their separate remarks, the representatives of the Director General,Sustainable Development Goals, (SDG’s) in the state, the Federal Quality Assurance, and the Director Test Measurement and Evaluation of the Ministry lauded the initiative of the state government under the leadership of the incumbent Niger State Executive Governor, Mohammed Umaru Bago as it would go along way in changing narratives in the state Eeducation sub sector and the generality of the lives of the girl child in the state.
Meanwhile, the highlights of the workshop, was the presentations made by some of the lead components of the state project implementation unit of the AGILE project and the interactive sessions which gave room for discussions and for better understanding of the project by the zonal quality assurance officers.