The Federal Government has unveiled a bold N800 billion education reform initiative under the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu, to enable more girls access to quality education.
The Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, made this know. during the grand celebration of the 2025 Children’s Day and the official launch of the expanded Adolescent Girls Initiative for Learning and Empowerment (AGILE) Project at the State House, Abuja
Alausa described the initiative as a national awakening, noting that Nigerian children were not just the future but the heartbeat of the present. He emphasized that education was a national security imperative and stressed that no girl must be left behind in the country’s development journey.
According to him, the AGILE programme with support from the World Bank, has expanded to 14 additional states; Adamawa, Bauchi, Gombe, Jigawa, Kogi, Kwara, Nasarawa, Niger, Sokoto, Yobe, Zamfara, Delta, Enugu, and Taraba.
He said: “this phase of the project accelerates access to secondary education for adolescent girls through: new school construction, classroom renovations, provision of WASH (Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene) facilities, teacher training and enhanced community engagement.
“Under the HOPE-EDU Reform Programme, the Federal Government has: trained over 260,000 teachers, empowered 100,000+ School-Based Management Committees (SBMCs), renovated over 3,000 classrooms, distributed more than 5 million instructional materials.
“These efforts are reshaping the educational landscape nationwide. Every child counts, every girl matters, and education remains the surest path to a secure, prosperous Nigeria.”
Alausa, commended the First Lady for her unwavering advocacy through the #WeAreEqual campaign and acknowledged her commitment to advancing girls’ education across all regions
Speaking, Nigeria’s First Lady, Oluremi Tinubu who reaffirmed the administration’s dedication to girl-child education, emphasized the need for collective support from traditional, religious, and political leaders and encouraged Nigerian children to stay in school, remain curious, and pursue their dreams.
Also speaking, the Minister of state for Education Professor Suwaiba Ahmad emphasized AGILE’s alignment with global movements such as the 1.8 Billion Campaign and the Global Forum for Adolescents. He unveiled the Ministry’s flagship Nigerian Education Sector Renewal Initiative (NESRI), designed to transition Nigeria from a resource-based to a knowledge-based economy.
“NESRI addresses the root causes of learning poverty and focuses on: TVET (Technical and Vocational Education and Training), STEMM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, and Medicine), girl-child education, digitalization, education quality assurance.”
Ahmad highlighted other achievements under the Renewed Hope Agenda Including; Construction of 7,200 new schools, renovation of 195,000 classrooms, training of 970,000 teachers and distribution of over 103 million textbooks.
The World Bank, Country Director Mr. Taimur Samad noted that AGILE was currently the second-largest project funded by the Bank globally. He expressed optimism that the programme would reverse high dropout rates among girls and reach 50 million students across Nigeria.
The AGILE GAME/Children’s day’s celebration also featured the Children’s Games Award Ceremony, recognizing youth excellence in sports and creative arts. A standout moment was the presentation of a painting by Awelewa, a child with special needs, to the First Lady.