By Muazu Abubakar Albarkawa The Centre for Girls Education (CGE), with support from the OASIS Initiative, has successfully trai...
By Muazu Abubakar Albarkawa
The Centre for Girls Education (CGE), with support from the OASIS Initiative, has successfully trained and graduated 120 out-of-school girls under a vocational skills acquisition programme implemented in collaboration with the Division of Agricultural Colleges (DAC), Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria.
The graduands received their certificates on Wednesday, September 16, 2026, during a graduation ceremony held at the Samaru College of Agriculture, ABU.
The training, which produced the first cohort, was designed to provide young girls with practical skills for economic empowerment, self-reliance and improved livelihoods.
The participants received training in horticulture, goat production, beekeeping, and home and rural economics.
The OASIS Initiative supported CGE in the successful implementation of the programme, which seeks to equip young girls with relevant vocational skills and create opportunities for them to become economically independent and contribute to their families and communities.
Speaking at the ceremony, the Vice-Chancellor of ABU, Prof. Adamu Ahmed, described the programme as significant, saying it provided opportunities for girls who had been excluded from conventional educational opportunities.
The Vice-Chancellor, who was represented by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Advancement, Research and Innovation, Prof. Aliyu Rafindadi Sanusi, said the university believed that “being out of school should not mean being out of opportunity.”
He said the training had equipped the girls with practical skills that could boost their confidence and independence, while enabling them to contribute to the economic wellbeing of their families and communities.
Ahmed commended CGE and the Division of Agricultural Colleges for their collaboration, describing the initiative as an example of how institutions could work together to address the educational needs of vulnerable girls.
He urged the graduands to put their acquired skills into practice and continue learning, stressing that their training was “not the destination, but the beginning.”
“Support one another. Turn your skills into opportunity, and where you can, become a source of opportunity for another girl,” he advised.
Also speaking, the Director of the Division of Agricultural Colleges, Prof. Bashir Ahmed Babaji, described the graduation as a celebration of courage, determination and new beginnings.
Babaji said the participants had acquired practical skills in agricultural production and management, including knowledge that could help reduce post-harvest losses.
He added that the graduands could enrol in various National Diploma (ND) programmes offered by the three agricultural colleges under the Division.
Babaji called on government and non-governmental organisations to support similar initiatives aimed at addressing educational and social challenges affecting vulnerable members of society.
The Director of the Centre for Girls Education (CGE), Hajiya Habiba Muhammad, congratulated the 120 graduands for successfully completing the four-month intensive vocational skills training.
She said the initiative was aimed at providing out-of-school girls with practical skills that could promote economic empowerment, self-reliance and improved livelihoods.
Hajiya Habiba commended the participants for their commitment throughout the training and encouraged them to make effective use of the knowledge and skills they had acquired.
She also appreciated the Division of Agricultural Colleges, ABU, for providing the practical training, and the OASIS Initiative for supporting CGE in implementing the programme.
She emphasised the importance of continued collaboration among development partners and educational institutions in creating opportunities for young girls and supporting their transition towards economic independence.
The ceremony was attended by principal officers of the Division of Agricultural Colleges and key officials of the Samaru College of Agriculture.
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