The Kogi State Government has commenced the construction of 28 junior and senior secondary schools across the state’s 21 local government areas under the World Bank-supported Adolescent Girls Initiative for Learning and Empowerment (AGILE) programme.
The Commissioner for Education, Wemi Jones, disclosed this in Lokoja during the opening of bids for the school construction projects under the intervention.
Jones explained that AGILE is a World Bank-backed programme implemented through the Federal Ministry of Education to support adolescent girls between the ages of 12 and 19.
According to him, the initiative was developed following research into the major challenges affecting girls’ education, with the aim of helping participating states address those challenges through targeted funding.
He said Kogi is among the 21 states benefiting from the intervention in Nigeria.
The commissioner noted that the opening of bids for the 28 schools represented one of the seven major components of the AGILE programme.
He stressed that quality education could not be sustained without adequate and conducive learning environments, adding that the projects would help reduce infrastructure deficits in the state’s secondary schools.
Jones disclosed that the AGILE programme has an overall funding envelope of between $48 million and $50 million for Kogi State, covering all seven components.
He, however, clarified that the funding was a loan rather than a grant, noting that the state government had already commenced repayment.
The commissioner said the construction component would receive the largest share of the funding due to the scale of the infrastructure projects involved.
Also speaking, the Kogi State Project Coordinator of AGILE, Ahmed Tijani Oricha, said the state government remained committed to providing quality education for its citizens.
Oricha disclosed that Kogi had developed a customised prototype for secondary schools, which had been incorporated into the designs for the new schools.
He assured that the state would strengthen its monitoring and oversight mechanisms to ensure contractors complied with approved specifications.
According to him, successful contractors would be required to sign indemnity instruments, making them liable for failure to deliver or deviations from agreed contractual terms.
He said the construction projects were expected to be completed within 12 to 14 months, subject to successful contract execution.
Oricha urged traditional rulers, parents and other stakeholders to support the programme by encouraging children, particularly adolescent girls, to attend school and benefit from the opportunities provided.
He added that the AGILE intervention would complement the resources already being committed by the Kogi State Government to improve education and expand access to quality learning across the state.
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