By Chidimma C. Okeke (Abuja), Maryam Ahmadu-Suka (Kaduna), Salim Umar Ibrahim (Kano), Nabob Ogbonna (Abakaliki), Tijjani Ibrahim (Katsina), Shehu Umar (Gusau) & Olatunji Omirin (Maiduguri)
Nigeria, one of the countries that has suffered attacks on schools in recent times due to insecurity, is now battling with the challenge of protecting education in the country.
It has been estimated that over 2,295 teachers were killed in the North East between 2009 and 2022; more than 19,000 others displaced, over 910 schools destroyed and over 1,500 others forced to close due to insurgency.
It is also estimated that more than 600,000 children lost access to education.
With the foregoing scenario, it is safe to say the country is in dire need of deliberate efforts to secure schools, students, teachers and the environment from these wanton attacks by terrorist elements.
Therefore, to protect education and ensure equitable quality education in places of conflict, the UN Security Council (UNSC) unanimously adopted Resolution 2601, further establishing global consensus to safeguard the right to education and ensure that all schools are protected safe spaces.
This one-of-a-kind resolution condemns attacks on education and calls on states to take national action through laws and policies that hold those who attack schools and education to account, while also providing a response to victims of attack and ensuring the continuation of education in conditions of conflict and humanitarian emergency.
Nigeria, as one of the signatories of the resolution, came up with the National Policy on Safety, Security and Violence Free Schools, (NPSSVFS) and is working towards full implementation of the Safe Schools Declarations guidelines.
While educationists noted that, as a way forward, federal, state and local education authorities should facilitate the immediate implementation of the policy by making budgetary provisions, some international and civil society organisations have advocated that state governments implement the policy not only to protect education, but to further complement the role the security agencies play in protecting education.
The Development Research and Projects Centre (dRPC) Nigeria, supported by Fourci in Nigeria with funding from the Ford Foundation, conducted safe schools advocacy visits in collaboration with states ministries of education and civil society organisations in seven states of Kaduna, Kano, Enugu, Katsina, Ebonyi, Zamfara and Borno.
The project, set up by the dRPC is aimed at addressing the issue of safe schools in the state.
In Kaduna, a coalition of 11 civil society organisations (CSOs) under the aegis of the Safe Schools Initiative and SSD sought the support of the Kaduna State Ministry of Education on the implementation of NPSSVFS.
The members of the Safe Schools Technical Working Group urged the state Ministry of Education, to take the lead in providing safe schools in the state.
Speaking during an advocacy visit, the team lead, Swanta Bonat, said the group will try to identify risks faced by particular schools as well as collaborate with security agencies to deliver on its mandate.
She said the group has undergone training on how to implement the minimum standard for safe schools and the national policy on safety and security in schools.
“We have been able to organise step-down training for 90 headteachers, teachers, School Based Management Committees (SBMCs) and even students so that they will also be empowered to step it down to their school communities at large.”
She said: “Our action plan and what we request from the state is to map out schools and other CSOs, establish a coordination structure at state, local and community levels, establish safe schools focal points and network management, as well as build capacity of identified and mapped out safe schools partners.”
Responding, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education, Kaduna State, Dr Halliru Musa Soba, described the initiative as timely, especially as the 2023 general elections draw nearer.
Represented by the Overseer, Public Schools Department in the ministry, Habibu Alhassan, the permanent secretary assured of the ministry’s support in ensuring safety in Kaduna schools.
“We pray for the success of this laudable project because we all yearn to see that our students are learning in very safe spaces in Kaduna State,” he said.
For the Assistant Planning Officer, Department of Educational Planning and Development, Abbas Shehu, working with groups like these will lead to increase in the standard of education, in terms of access to education, quality of education and continuity of education as far as the ministry is concerned.
For Kano State Ministry of Education, it is ready to partner with dRPC in its effort to establish safety measures across schools in the state.
The Permanent Secretary in the state Ministry of Education, Bello Tukur Rogo, said the initiative came at a good time, especially as the country is engulfed with multiple security challenges.
He said, “We have welcomed the initiative. It’s really a good one, and we will do our best to ensure that we offer them all the necessary support while working hand in hand for the success of the programme.”
Speaking, the Co-chairman, Education in Emergency, Hassan Ibrahim Gama, said the programme is targeted at the promotion of safety and violence-free schools in the state.
“We want the programme to be functional and our schools to be safe,” he said.
Also, Zubaida Abdussalam, a member of the committee, called on the state government to as a matter of urgency, implement the NPSSVFS, saying, they should ensure the appointment of desk officers that would oversee the activities of Education in Emergency (HIE) in public schools.
Meanwhile, in Ebony, the Executive Director of Inspiring Generation and Humanity Support Foundation (IGHUSUF) Africa, Mr Darlinton Onwe, identified non-perimeter fencing in some public schools, cultism, truancy, non-staff quarters for teachers, late payment of salaries and culture as the basic challenges facing the safe school for girl child in schools in Ebonyi State.
Also included were sexual abuse, gender-based violence, lack of adequate teachers, absence of political will as well as infrastructures in schools in the rural areas.
Speaking at the official inauguration of the chief security officers for safe school taskforce to mark the 2022 International Day of the Girl child in Ebony, Onwe identified how to make schools and learning centres safe, saying, now is great time to make the girl child safe in schools.
He said to address these challenges, the organisation would liaise with and involve stakeholders at the grassroots level in its sensitisation programmes.
In Enugu, the advocacy coincided with the International Day of the Girl Child. Some female students during the event tasked the state government on the need to quickly domesticate the NPSSVFS as part of the 2022 celebration.
Senior Secondary III students of Solid Foundation Secondary, Ameachi Awkunanaw, and Vivian Igwe, demanded that the state government ends all forms of violence in schools, be they physical or emotional.
The students said it should end all forms of conflict, civil unrest, abductions, kidnappings, and child recruitment.
“Ensure safety of school facilities, which will focus on the proper dissemination of safety and security policies to staff, learners and all affiliates of education,” they urged.
Speaking, the Executive Director, Society for the Improvement of Rural People (SIRP), Dr Chris Ugwu, said there has been increased attention on issues that matter to girls amongst governments, policymakers, and the general public, and more opportunities for girls to have their voices heard on the global stage.
He said if effectively supported during the adolescent years, girls have the potential to change the world.
In Katsina State, the Commissioner of Education, Professor Badamasi Lawal Chiranchi, said the state government was ever ready to partner with any genuine group willing to render support in the area of education in the state.
Badamasi said despite the issue of insecurity and other disasters, such as flooding, the state did its best to ensure that students go to school and that their safety and security were assured.
“You asked us to implement the national policy on safety. We will do that. We are doing that already. We are partnering with you, and we will continue to partner and support you,” he said.
In Zamfara, the state Technical Team on Education in Emergencies (EiE) appealed to the state government to ensure the establishment of an EiEWG and implementation of NPSSVFS activities in the state.
The team leader, Hajiya Sa’adatu Abdu-Gusau, said Zamfara State is one of the most educationally disadvantaged states as armed conflicts have affected all the 14 local government areas of the state.
Speaking, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education, Kabiru Attahiru, said government is taking measures to reopen more schools as insecurity ebbs.
“We are ready to support anything that has to do with the safety of our schools,” he said.
In Borno, FOURCi sought solid synergy with security agencies to protect education facilities in the state.
The Executive Director, Mr Gabriel Abraham Bala said: “The essence of the visit is to ensure we have synergy between FOURCi and security formation, to ensure there are adequate security measures in making sure that schools are safe and conducive.”
While appreciating the security agencies for the role they played in protecting schools, especially against insurgency, he said their aim is also to see how they could further protect schools and release the schools that the military and police have taken over for shelter.
“We are advocating that they can return the schools to the community and again, this will help students to start using these facilities for learning.
The Commissioner of Police, CP Abdul Umar, stressed the need for all hands to be on deck so that girl child can get quality education in the state.
He noted that the police are playing their constitutional role in protecting education through providing adequate security measures to make sure that schools are safe and conducive for learning.
During the advocacy at Operation Hadin Kai Theater Command, Borno State, Deputy Director, Army Public Relations, Major Sam Zakhomi, assured the team that the Theater Commander would always provide adequate security to protect education facilities in the region.
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