EKITI GETS WORLD BANK'S $25MILLION FOR EDUCATION DEVELOPMENT

By Ayo Ajofoyinbo 

The Ekiti State Government has received $25million education support fund from the World Bank with a view to enhancing learning opportunities for girls.

The fund was disbursed to the State as a participating State in the bank's Adolescent Girls Initiative for Learning and Empowerment (AGILE) project.

Flagging off the programme in Ado Ekiti on Tuesday, the wife of the State Governor, Erelu Bisi Fayemi noted that Ekiti would benefit to the tune of $25Million out of $500 million earmarked for the project in seven States. 

 Erelu Fayemi assured that the decision to key into the program was borne out of government commitment to making education more affordable.

While encouraging the benefiting schools to make judicious use of the fund, the First Lady appealed to committees of school management to make the best use of the opportunity to improve the quality of education in the state.

She said the AGILE programme would improve the education sector and the campaign aimed at educating the girl child.

According to the Wife of the Governor, the program is World Bank assisted Adolescent Girls Initiative for Learning and Empowerment (AGILE) project aimed at enhancing learning opportunities for girls and further make schools in the State functional, safe, and inclusive to teaching and learning.

The Governor's Wife discribed AGILE project as an offspring of the Keep Girls In School (KGIS) initiative, aimed to eradicate or at least minimize obstacles that prevent girls from completing their education.

At the event, Erelu Fayemi disbursed School Improvement Grant (SIG) to  two hundred and three public secondary schools in Ekiti 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.

In her Address, 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.

The Chairman Ekiti State Council of Obas, the Onisan of Isan-Ekiti, Oba Gabriel Ayodele Adejuwon assured the gathering that the project would continue to enjoy the full support of the traditional rulers.

Responding, Master Ekundayo Samuel from Holy Apostolic Christ School, Ikole-Ekiti on behalf of the benefiting schools applauded the government for the initiative which he said would definitely encourage student enrollment in public secondary schools in the state