CGE Sponsors Vocational Training for 120 Out-of-School Girls at ABU-DAC

Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, has graduated 120 out-of-school girls after four months of vocational skills training at the Samaru College of Agriculture.

The graduands received their certificates on Wednesday, September 16, 2026, during a graduation ceremony held at the Samaru College of Agriculture.

The training, which produced the first cohort, was organised by the university’s Division of Agricultural Colleges (DAC) in collaboration with the Centre for Girls Education (CGE).

The participants were trained in various areas of the agricultural value chain, including horticulture, beekeeping, goat farming, and catering and restaurant management.

The programme was designed to provide out-of-school girls with a second chance by equipping them with practical skills that could improve their livelihoods and enable them to 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 an opportunity 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 the CGE and the Division of Agricultural Colleges for the 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 not only production and management skills but also knowledge aimed at reducing post-harvest losses.

“They have acquired practical skills that turn farms into businesses and ideas into income,” he said.

He added that the graduands could now enrol in various National Diploma (ND) programmes offered by the three agricultural colleges under the Division.

Babaji also 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.

Hajiya Habiba said the initiative was aimed at giving out-of-school girls an opportunity to acquire practical skills that could help them become self-reliant and improve their livelihoods.

She 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 supporting the initiative, stressing the importance of continued collaboration in creating opportunities for girls who are out of school.