Governor Uba Sani of Kaduna State says that out of Nigeria’s 14 million children who are not in school, 500,000 live in the state.
Sani said that while there are more of these children in other states than in Kaduna, his government is committed to giving these children, especially girls, the chance to go to school.
The governor said this after a groundbreaking and foundation-laying ceremony for 62 new junior secondary schools (JSS) and senior secondary schools (SSS) as part of the first phase of the World Bank-funded Adolescent Girls Initiative for Learning and Empowerment (AGILE) project in the state’s 23 local government areas on Thursday.
He said, “We’re here because schools are being built in Rigachikun. The point is to make sure that everyone can get an education because, as you know, Nigeria has more children who don’t go to school than any other country in the world.
“This is because, as we speak, about 14 million children are not in school. About 500,000 people live in the state of Kaduna. There are many states with more than Kaduna, but we are very aggressive in Kaduna. “That’s why we talk to all the local governments in rural areas to make sure the program is set up in rural areas so that our children can have opportunities,” he said.
Some of the most important parts of the AGILE project are making learning spaces safe and easy to get to, creating a supportive setting for girls, and improving project management and systems. Before the end of the AGILE Project in 2025, a total of 93 more new schools will be built.
Professor Sani Bello, who is the State Commissioner for Education, praised the governor and the other partners for their work to improve education in the state.