The Adolescent Girls Initiative for Learning and Empowerment (AGILE), a World Bank-assisted project is intervening in 217 public secondary schools in Enugu State for infrastructure upliftment, provision of sanitation facilities and distribution of teaching and learning materials to improve students’ educational experience.

State Project Coordinator of AGILE in Enugu State, Dr Ebele Georgina Chukwu-Onuora, said the intervention is aimed at creating conducive learning environments, increasing school enrolment and retention, and addressing barriers that prevent adolescent girls from accessing and completing their education.

She stated this during a media roundtable organised by the state project team to explain and publicise the project.

She said the current phase of the intervention focused on upgrading existing public secondary schools and providing facilities and materials that would encourage students, particularly girls, to remain in school and complete their education.

According to her, the project would involve renovating school infrastructure, provision of water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) facilities, and distributing textbooks and other instructional materials to address challenges affecting effective learning.

Chukwu-Onuorah added that adequate sanitation facilities were particularly important for adolescent girls, noting that poor toilet facilities and inadequate menstrual hygiene arrangements could discourage them from attending school regularly. She said the project would help create a more supportive environment for girls to participate fully in academic activities.

She added that the provision of textbooks and writing materials would reduce the difficulties students face when they lack essential learning resources, while helping them improve their academic performance.

According to her, the project team had visited the 217 targeted schools to assess their needs and identify the interventions required. The assessments also included screening for potential environmental and social risks associated with the planned renovation works.

Beyond infrastructure, Chukwu-Onuora said AGILE was addressing social and cultural barriers that prevent adolescent girls from enrolling in or completing secondary education through community engagement, sensitisation and advocacy.

She explained that the project was working with communities to identify traditional practices and social expectations that discourage girls’ education, adding that parents, community leaders and other stakeholders had important roles to play in changing such attitudes.

The coordinator disclosed that gender-based clubs and safe environment clubs had been introduced in participating schools to promote awareness of gender-related issues and encourage safer learning environments for students.

She said suggestion boxes had also been provided in the schools to enable students report complaints, including gender-based violence cases and other grievances, through the project’s grievance redress mechanism.

Chukwu-Onuora stressed that children living with disabilities were also part of the intervention, noting that three special schools in Enugu State were included in the project’s considerations to ensure that vulnerable learners were not left behind.

She explained that AGILE had several components, including the construction of new school infrastructure, renovation of existing schools, social norms communication, digital literacy, empowerment initiatives and alternative education opportunities. However, the immediate focus in Enugu State was on renovating existing secondary schools and improving their facilities.

The project, she added, would also promote awareness of girls’ rights and protection through activities commemorating important occasions, including the International Day of the Girl Child and campaigns against gender-based violence.

She called on parents, community leaders and other stakeholders to support the initiative by encouraging school enrolment, challenging practices that keep girls out of school and ensuring that children remain in education.

Chukwu-Onuora said the intervention aligned with the Enugu State Government’s commitment to expanding access to education, urging parents to take advantage of available opportunities and ensure that their children were enrolled and retained in school.

The AGILE project is a government-led initiative supported by the World Bank to improve adolescent girls’ access to quality secondary education, strengthen learning outcomes and expand empowerment opportunities.

She praised Governor Peter Mbah for the initiative, saying that Enugu was the only state where the project runs in the southeast.