President Bola Tinubu on Monday approved additional funding for the training and empowerment of adolescent girls in the country.
The Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman, disclosed this while addressing State House Correspondents on the outcome of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
He said President Tinubu’s administration was working assiduously to reduce Nigeria’s exceptionally high numbers of out-of-school children.
The minister said: “Two things I want to mention and comment on, which are very important parts of the deliberations and resolutions in the Council today.
“One, is additional funding for the training and empowerment of adolescent girls in Nigeria. One of the major policies of government is to target the education, training and empowerment of young girls into society.
“Initially from seven participating states, we will now have about 11 additional states participating in this project, which will lead to the empowerment of girls between 10 and 20, right across the participating states.”
Mamman explained that as a major escalation of the programme, it was meant to empower girls, teachers and the provision for additional schools in the country.
On his part, Mr Wale Edun, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, confirmed that FEC approved funding for training and empowerment of adolescent girls.
Edu disclosed that he presented five memos at the FEC meeting, which were gracefully approved.
He said that the memos had to do with concessional and zero-interest financing by the World Bank and the International Development Association, which was the very concessional financing arm.
The minister said that the projects approved for funding were in the power and the renewable energy sectors.
“There was a project for adolescent girls’ initiative for learning and empowerment, essentially, as it says, it is a programme to support young girls from the age of 11, and those of secondary school age.
“It is to ensure that at the end of their schooling, they have one skill or the other that is marketable, as well as the academic laurels.”