The World-Bank funded project, Adolescent Girls Initiative for Learning and Empowerment (AGILE), Zamfara office, has urged parents and guardia
The World-Bank funded project, Adolescent Girls Initiative for Learning and Empowerment (AGILE), Zamfara office, has urged parents and guardians to ensure transparency and accountability to support their children’s education through the Conditional Cash Transfer programme.
The Director, Guidance and Counseling, State Ministry of Education, Hajiya Binta Lawal made the call at the town hall meeting held with parents, guardians at Bakura/Maradun Education office in Maradun town.
A total of 8,593 adolescent girls are to benefit from N50,000 each annually across the state under the conditional cash transfer programme of the AGILE project.
The town hall meeting was on transition into JSS 1/SS1 Social and Environmental Issues related to girl-child education in the state.
Lawal noted that the conditional cash transfer is aimed to enhance enrollment of adolescent girls in schools part of the state government’s efforts to promote girl child education.
She said the objective of the meeting is to sensitise parents and guardians as well as other stakeholders about the education support cash transfer programme.
“We invited various education stakeholders for this meeting comprising parents, guardians, traditional and religious leaders, political leaders, youth and women’s groups as well as the media
“We consider every stakeholders here as partner in progress for the development of education.
“We all have greater role to play in promoting future education of our children and society in general,” she said.
According to her, the aim of the meeting was to inform the parents and guardians about the AGILE’s conditional cash transfer Programme.
“I am therefore calling on parents and guardians to utilize the support to be given to their children for education purposes only.
“This cash transfer support is aimed to assist our adolescent girls to complete their secondary school education.
“I am therefore appealing to you to ensure transparency and accountability while utilising the money,” she added.
One of the facilitators, Malama Binta Sanusi Kwatarkwashi of the Federal University Gusau, described the girl’s child education as bedrock for the development of the society.
“As parents and guardians, we all know the value of educating our female children, therefore we shouldn’t miss this great opportunity.
“I believe the conditional cash transfer support for the adolescent girls will enhance their enrollment in schools.
“The support will also reduce various challenges of Gender -Based Violence, hawking, street begging among others to the adolescent girls,” Kwatarkwashi explained.
In their separate remarks, participants pledged support to the success of the programme.
They also promised to extend the knowledge and information gathered during the meeting to their respective organizations and communities.
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