Making Schools Safe For Learning In Nigeria

Making Schools Safe For Learning In Nigeria

Schools are meant to be safe havens for students, providing an environment conducive to learning and personal growth.

However, in recent years in Nigeria, school safety and security have become increasingly challenging as some unpatriotic citizens have made it a soft target for abduction and enrichment.

A few weeks ago, hundreds of pupils and teachers of Government Secondary School and LEA Primary School at kuriga, kaduna State, were abducted by bandits.

The bandits reportedly invaded the Kuriga area of Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna state shooting at their victims before taking away their captives from both the school.

Report also says the Secondary School was relocated to the Primary School on account of the insecurity in the Council.

Two days after the Kaduna school attack, the gunmen struck again in Sokoto State, abducting 15 Almajiri students in Gada Local Government Area.

Nigeria has witnessed devastating attacks on schools before the recent incidence in Kaduna and Sokoto states.

For instance, on April 14, 2014, members of Boko Haram abducted 276 female students at Government Secondary School, Chibok in Borno state, prompting international outrage.

Amnesty International said more than 90 of the students are still missing.

The unfortunate incident made the wife of the then President, Mrs.
Patience Goodluck Jonathan to weep bitterly on national television, pleading with to the perpetrators to stop the heinous act.

In February 19, 2018, a boko haram faction abducted one hundred and ten school girls from a Girls’ Science College in Dapchi, Yobe state.

According to reports, nearly all the girls were later released, but five of them were killed.

Also during the evening of 11 December 2020, over three hundred pupils were kidnapped from a boys’ boarding secondary school on the outskirts of Kankara, Katsina state.

Following these attacks, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation, UNESCO, in its global data on out-of-school children in 2022 raised an alarm that Nigeria now has about twenty million out-of-school children.

It is noteworthy that the disclosure by UNESCO, paints a gloomy picture of the educational development of the country.

In response to the outcry by Nigerians, the federal government under President Muhammadu Buhari in 2019 instituted the Safe School Initiative, largely implemented by the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, to combat the frequent abduction of school children in the country.

The initiative can be said not to have achieved its purpose judging by the ease at which bandits still successfully invade schools and carry out their evil acts.

Moving forward, it is high time government pay serious attention to security in schools as the attackers are not showing any sign of repentance of their evil ways.

To this end, security should be beefed up around schools in the country while the premises should be fortified with perimeter fencing and barbed wires.

The students and staff should also be educated on security tips and also trained on security breach drills in times of crisis.

Furthermore, government and school owners should invest in technology to secure the premises by installing close circuit televisions in schools nationwide.

Security agencies also should be alive to their responsibilities by promptly responding to distress calls.

When all these are put in place, learning will be conducted in an atmosphere of safety rather than fear.

By Jeffrey Ahonmisi, Edited By Grace Namiji