The Adolescent Girls Initiative for Learning and Empowerment (AGILE) project, supported by the World Bank, has announced plans to improve sanitation and water facilities in public schools across Sokoto State.
The project aims to construct toilets, boreholes, and handwashing facilities in these schools.
Recent data from the 2021/2022 annual school census revealed concerning figures, such as 425 primary school pupils sharing one toilet in the state.
The situation is similarly challenging in junior and senior secondary schools, with 136 and 131 students sharing one toilet, respectively.
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Additionally, the pupil-to-classroom ratios are high, with 117, 65, and 64 students per classroom in primary, junior, and secondary schools, respectively.
Speaking at a steering committee meeting on Wednesday, the state Coordinator of AGILE, Dr Mansur Buhari, stressed the importance of this intervention for safeguarding students’ health.
He clarified that the initiative isn’t limited to girls’ schools but includes renovating 292 junior secondary schools and 153 senior secondary schools in the state’s first phase.
He added that 56 new junior and senior secondary schools will be constructed.
The chairman of the steering committee and Commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education in Sokoto State, Tukur Arkali said the state government has contributed counterpart funding of 150 million naira, with an additional 50 million naira for the programme’s launch.
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