The Adolescent Girls Initiative for Learning and Empowerment (AGILE), a World Bank-supported project, has engaged Islamic clerics and Juma’at mosque Imams in Kano State to promote positive attitudes toward girls’ education.
At an interactive forum on Thursday themed “Positive Messages for Attitudinal Change Towards Girl-Child Education”, AGILE gathered religious leaders, government officials, and civil society representatives to strengthen advocacy for female education.
AGILE’s Kano Coordinator, Alhaji Mujittafa Aminu, said the project had faced early resistance due to misconceptions but gained wider acceptance through dialogue with religious leaders.
“The project is not harmful to our religion, culture, or norms. We’ll keep working with the Ulama and Imams to ensure its full success,” Aminu said, noting that programme components had been reviewed to align with local values.
Deputy Project Coordinator, Malam Ahmed Jibril-Musa, said the initiative, implemented by the Federal Ministry of Education across 21 states, seeks to remove barriers such as cultural norms, financial hardship, and inadequate infrastructure that prevent girls from attending secondary school.
He said AGILE is building 130 new schools in 24 local government areas, with 49 already approved, while more than 1,200 existing schools have each received over ₦3.3 million for repairs, sanitation, and learning materials.
“So far, 8,598 out-of-school girls from 13 local councils have been enrolled in adult education programmes, with 117 facilitators engaged,” Jibril-Musa added.
Dr. Auwal Halilu, Co-Chair of the Kano State Accountability Forum (K-SAFE), said the project aims to return about 40,000 girls to classrooms, stressing that community participation and religious endorsement were vital for sustainability.
Hajiya Halima Tukur, Director of Educational Support Services and Lead of AGILE’s Social Norms Component, said over 15,000 girls had returned to school through advocacy and door-to-door campaigns.
Governor Abba Kabir-Yusuf’s Special Adviser on Tsangaya Schools, Gwani Musa Falaki, commended AGILE’s engagement with clerics, noting that “in the North, people respect the words of Imams. If they support girl-child education, society will follow.”
Falaki also urged the project to include Qur’anic schoolgirls in its vocational and education programmes.
Kano State Shari’a Commission’s Commissioner II, Ali Dan-Abba, said involving Ulama would ensure the programme aligns with Islamic principles and urged continued collaboration.
Representatives of the Hisbah Board, FOMWAN, the Muslim Students’ Society, and PLANE also delivered goodwill messages supporting the initiative.
