Encouragement of students’ enrollment in Public Secondary Schools across Ekiti State, is taking new dimension with the distribution of grants to two hundred and three educational facilities.

Distributing the grants, at the Flag off of the project in Ado Ekiti, the wife of Ekiti State Governor, Erelu Bisi Fayemi urged the benefiting schools to make judicious use of the fund.

She told the gathering that the grants which is under the World Bank Assisted Project Known as Adolescent Girl Initiative for Learning and Empowerment, AGILE, was to make schools in the state functional and conducive for teaching and learning.

According to her, Ekiti State will benefit twenty-five million dollars out of Five hundred million dollars earmarked for the project in seven states of the federation. 

She gave assurance that Government would be relentless in its efforts at making education more affordable and appealed to the committee of school management to make the best use of the opportunity to improve the quality of education in the state.

Earlier,  the commissioner for Education, Science, and Technology, Dr Olabimpe Aderiye expressed satisfaction that the project was coming up when schools in the state needed more blocks of classrooms as a result of dilapidated old structures in government education facilities.

Also, the state Coordinator, Adolescent Girl Initiative for Learning and Empowerment AGILE, Mrs Yemisi Alokan said that the project would further enhance enrollment of Adolescent in schools thereby reducing the risk of being exposed to criminal activities and molestation.

Political leaders, Traditional leaders and top government functionaries at the event applauded the initiative adding that the project would eradicate all obstacles that could prevent Girl child from completing their education.

Busuyi Ogidiolu

The wife of Ekiti State Governor, Erelu Bisi Fayemi has expressed dissatisfaction with increasing number of teenage pregnancies and all forms of abuse against girl-child in the state.

The Governor’s wife stated this in Ado-Ekiti during a  Technical session on Adolescent Girl Initiative for Learning and Empowerment (AGILE) with Ekiti State Gender Based Violence Committee and also at a sensitization engagement of chairmen of Local Government and Council Development Areas.

Adolescent Girls Initiative for Learning and Empowerment AGILE being a world bank assisted project in seven states, of which Ekiti State is the only participating South Western State among others which includes Borno, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi and Plateau.

Erelu Fayemi described as worrisome, the level at which teenage girls below fourteen years, get impregnated and made to hawk goods at the expense of their education.

“Despite various laws and policies formulated 27 years after the Fourth World Women Conference held in Beijing, China in 1995, it is disheartening to still see these very young Ladies carrying babies at their back, while they on many occasions will not be able to recognize the boy who was responsible for pregnancy of the babies”. She said.

The Governor’s wife maintained that Ekiti State has the highest number of teenage pregnancies in the Southwest while most of the ladies involved would not be able to continue with their education, thereby dropping out of school.

She, therefore, urged the participants to intensify efforts in creating awareness at the grassroots, “you should please help us to set up GBV committee at the Local Government level to be chaired by the wives of the chairmen and provision of safe shelter for the GBV victims and Found to finance it’s activities” she stressed.

Erelu Fayemi charged parents and guardians to pay more attention to Girl child not because their male counterpart should not be neglected but because they cannot be easily exposed to issues that could affect their future plans.

The Commissioner for Education Science and Technology, Dr Bimpe Aderiye advocated that the need for the improved conscious effort needed to keep girl-child in school.

She noted that despite government’s interventions at providing education facilities across the state and making the existing ones more conducive for learning, there were still dilapidated structures in some schools that are capable of keeping students out of school. 

Contributing, the State Coordinator, Adolescent Girl initiative for Learning and Empowerment, AGILE, Mrs Yemisi Alokan said that the project was targeted by world Bank at improving secondary education and create opportunities among adolescents boys and girls in participating states.

According to her, boys and girls under the category of Adolescent must enrol and complete  secondary school education with adequate empowerment skills.

In their remarks, participants at the programme which included the legal professionals, representatives of Religious bodies, council chairmen among others called for improved awareness on Adolescent Girl child initiative for Learning and Empowerment AGILE, so as to reduce teenage pregnancy across the state.

Busuyi Ogidiolu