The Adolescent Girls Initiative for Learning and Empowerment (AGILE) project has announced that no fewer than 12,133 students have been enrolled as beneficiaries of its Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) programme across 100 secondary schools in Bauchi State.
The Project Coordinator, Ladi Mohammed Hamma, disclosed this while briefing journalists on the progress of the project’s implementation in the state. She stated that each beneficiary has already received N40,000 as part of the support package.
According to Hamma, the beneficiaries began enjoying the scholarship fund last term, and payments were successfully credited into their individual bank accounts.
“We have credited the money to their accounts and they have accessed the funds, except for a few who are yet to receive their ATM cards. My team and I are working tirelessly to ensure all beneficiaries receive their ATM cards by the end of this week,” she said.
Hamma explained that the ATM cards are being issued through FCMB, Jos branch, while members of the project team are currently in the field distributing the cards directly to students.
She clarified that each beneficiary is entitled to a total of N60,000 under the Conditional Cash Transfer scheme, depending on their transition and attendance in school.
“When a student transits from primary school to JSS1 or from JSS3 to SS1, she receives N15,000 as registration fee and N25,000 as transition fee, making N40,000 in the first term. Subsequently, if she maintains at least 70 percent attendance, she will receive N10,000 every term until she completes JS3 or SS3,” she explained.
The coordinator further revealed that AGILE has expanded the programme from 100 to 200 schools and is targeting 40,000 beneficiaries in its second cohort.
“Our staff have been on the field for the past three to four months enumerating students and capturing their data for the next phase. We are hoping to enroll 40,000 beneficiaries across 200 schools,” she said.
Hamma identified lack of National Identification Number (NIN) as a major challenge affecting enrollment. She urged parents to ensure their wards obtain NIN and birth certificates, while parents should also provide their own NIN and Bank Verification Number (BVN) to facilitate account opening for the students.
She emphasised that the forms for the programme are given directly to beneficiaries and appealed to parents to ensure that the funds are used strictly for educational purposes to achieve the objectives of the AGILE project.
On other components of the project, Hamma disclosed that AGILE is set to train 156 Technical Service Providers on environmental and social safeguards ahead of renovation works in 1,203 secondary schools across the 20 local government areas of Bauchi State.
She noted that the training, recently cleared by the World Bank, will equip civil engineers, architects, quantity surveyors and environmental experts who will support School-Based Management Committees in executing renovation projects under direct labour arrangements.
Hamma added that processes for the construction of new schools across the 20 local government areas are ongoing, with the project awaiting approval of prototype designs and site specifications before proceeding to advertisement and bidding stages.
