By Precious Oham
As part of the sensitization programme with stakeholders in the 16 Local Government Areas of Ekiti State, the Adolescent Girls Initiative for Learning and Empowerment, AGILE, said the group is committed towards ensuring more enrollment and retention of students in secondary schools in the state.
Speaking with newsmen in Igede-Ekiti, on Wednesday, during a one-day Town Hall Meeting with Key Stakeholders in Adolescent Education, the Project Coordinator, Mrs Yewande Adesua, reiterated that the AGILE project will make secondary education easy for children in the state.
While urging the stakeholders to return to their communities and enlighten the public, she noted that every citizen of the state has a part to play in this initiative.
Her words: “The major objective of AGILE is to improve opportunities for secondary education in Ekiti State and the state is highly privileged because out of the 36 states of the Federation, only seven states are presently participating in this intervention and the only state in the South.
“The focus of AGILE is towards the adolescent girls to ensure their enrolment in schools. In the past, our forefathers believed that the girl-child shouldn’t be educated. It is to improve the enrollment and ensure they are retained in schools because not every child that enrolls in school finishes. AGILE Project wants to ensure retention in school and transition from secondary school.
“We are looking at things that will make secondary education easy for our children. We are renovating our schools, constructing perimeter fencing to ensure that our children are safe and not at risk security wise. We are also developing life skills that these children will have to live with to navigate adulthood.
“What we are doing today is a town hall meeting with Stakeholders to sensitise them. This is how we are reaching out to them so that they can bring their children to school. Also, if they have a neighbour whose children are not in school, with this engagement they are enlightened to encourage their neighbour because everything is about all of us and not just government alone.
“The artisans, citizens all have a part to play and that is why we are going from local government to the other to speak with our people to come to their level so that they can see reason why these children need to be retained in school.”
In her goodwill message, the Olori of Onigede-Ekiti, Olori Florence Aladesuru appreciated AGILE for the intervention programme in the area while calling for the inclusion of the boy-child in their activities.
Also, the Area Education Officer 1 in Irepodun/Ifelodun LGA, Adegboyega Alokan urged the group to spread the project in all other spheres to ensure that the current state of education in the area is greatly improved.
Alokan called on students at the event to pass the message to other students in their various schools on the need to embrace education for their growth.
The programme witnessed sensitization sessions by various AGILE Resource Speakers on Life Skills, Digital Skills, Gender Based Violence, Grievances Redress Mechanism among others.
Stakeholders at the event including, students, artisans, business women and men; market women, youths, students, principals of secondary schools, traditional and religious leaders.