No fewer than 40,000 adolescent girls in Kaduna State have benefited from a structured life skills education programme as the state government moves to institutionalise it across public secondary schools.
The initiative forms part of broader efforts to strengthen girl-child education and equip students with practical skills beyond conventional academics. Governor Uba Sani will soon transmit an Executive Bill to the Kaduna State House of Assembly to make life skills education a compulsory and permanent component of the secondary school curriculum.
The programme, implemented under the World Bank–supported Adolescent Girls Initiative for Learning and Empowerment (AGILE), has reached 40,536 girls and 1,864 boys across senior secondary schools, with 1,141 teachers trained as mentors to deliver the curriculum.
Representing the governor at a strategic workshop in Abuja, Commissioner for Education Prof. Abubakar Sani Sambo said the administration aims to develop emotional intelligence, resilience, and leadership skills alongside academic learning. “Our goal is to build life skills that will help young people, especially girls, navigate real-life challenges and become responsible leaders in their communities,” he said.
The curriculum covers empowerment, health and nutrition, reproductive health, prevention of gender-based violence, climate change, and social inclusion. Early outcomes include improved self-confidence, reduced absenteeism, increased school enrolment, and positive behavioural changes such as better interpersonal relationships and respect for diversity.
AGILE State Project Coordinator Maryam Dangaji confirmed that the programme now operates in all senior secondary schools in Kaduna. Dr Habiba Mohammed, Executive Director of the Centre for Girls’ Education, described the approach as a model for sustainable girl-child education reform in Nigeria.
Kaduna State House of Assembly Committee on Education Chairman, Emmanuel Kantiok, said lawmakers are ready to fast-track the bill once presented, giving life skills education a strong legal and budgetary foundation.
