Despite AGILE presence, number of girls school dropout increases in Kano LG

From Mustapha Adamu, Kano

The Federal Government’s Initiative to Support Girls’ Education (AGILE) has seen a decrease in the number of girls going to school in the Ajingi Local Government Area.
The Agile team on Tuesday paid a visit to Ajingi Local Government Area to find out why female students are declining.
Some of the children’s parents, who made a statement during the event, described the challenges they faced with the AGILE program and some of the challenges that forced their children to leave school.
One of the principals of girls’ schools, Amilu Ilu Toranke, said the percentage of the students who were going to his school dropped from three to one percent.
It is therefore necessary that the Agile program should begin to support students with the cash funds they previously promised.
He added that poverty and the inability of the Agile program to execute projects and fulfill the promise of providing support to the students are the major challenges behind the dropout of girls from schools
In his response, Salisu Idris Dakata, the Deputy Coordinator of The Agile Programme in Kano, said that the Ajingi and Makoda local government areas had the most declining number of female students in school.
He said they were in the local government area to seek cooperation from parents and stakeholders to address the problem.
In his remarks, the district head of Ajingi and Madawakin Gaya, Alhaji Wada Aliyu, who was addressed on his behalf by his representative, Abdulkadir Abdullahi Dan Zango, said the emirate was ready to provide the Agile program with the necessary supports to address the problem of female students who are out of school.
Alhaji Wada Aliyu also praises Agile for its innovative approach to the reform of public schools for the advancement of girls’ education.