Thursday, May 9, 2024 -The Kaduna State government has disclosed plans to merge a total of 359 schools due to the incessant abductions carried out by bandits in the state.
Speaking at
a stakeholders forum and the training of the Schools’ Protection Squad on
Wednesday, May 8, Governor Uba Sani represented by his Chief of Staff,
Sani Kila, said the schools in vulnerable communities would be merged
with those in safe locations, as part of measures to safeguard the schools and
children from being attacked by bandits.
According to him, the school protection
squad launched under the Federal Government’s Safe School Initiative is aimed
at securing schools, children, and teachers from all forms of attacks by
bandits and terrorists.
While noting that Kaduna is one of the
states that has been waging a sustained battle against banditry, terrorism,
kidnapping, and other forms of criminality, Kila lamented that the activities
of non-state actors, have disrupted socio-economic activities in the affected
communities, and are threatening the educational revitalisation programme of
the state.
He said: “Kaduna state’s educational system
is facing a crisis of declining enrolment, with over 200,000 fewer primary
school pupils recorded in the 2022/2023 academic session compared to the
previous year. This dramatic drop (from 2,111,969 in 2021/2022 to 1,734,704 in
2022/2023) is largely attributed.
“In several local government areas (lgas)
particularly chikun, birnin gwari, Kajuru, Giwa, and Igabi insecurity has
forced school consolidation, further pushing up the number of out-of-school
children. Incidents like the kidnapping of 135 students from the Lea Primary
and Junior Secondary School, Kuriga, Chikun local government, tragically
illustrate the devastating impact of insecurity on education access and
safety.”
Kila said he believed that no nation could
achieve its human capital development goals, and continue its path towards
sustainable development when its schools are threatened by insecurity.
He continued: “The theme of this capacity
building programme ‘Strengthening Security Resilience and Integration of host
Communities in the Protection of Education’ is apt. No nation can achieve its
human capital development goals, and in fact make giant developmental strides
if it fails to guarantee the safety and security of schools.
“For you to effectively guarantee the
safety and security of schools, you must build the capacity of security forces
and communities to anticipate, prepare for, reduce the impact of, cope with,
and recover from the effects of shocks and stresses. It follows therefore that
security forces must integrate host communities in their security plans and
execute effective psychological operations to win the hearts and minds of the
people.
“I commend the Federal Government for
launching the N144.8 billion safe schools financing plan in 2022. The plan was
developed through rigorous consultative strategic engagements with all relevant
stakeholders in the education and security sectors, at national and
sub-national levels.
“It is gratifying to note that in
furtherance of this plan, the Inspector General of Police, IGP Olukayode
Egbetokun has established the Schools Protection Squad (SPS), a proactive
initiative aimed at enhancing security and safety in educational institutions
across Nigeria.
“To ensure that the education of our
children in conflicts-prone and terrorist-infested areas is not interrupted, we
have commenced the merging of 359 schools with those in safe locations. We are
also implementing our safe school program to strengthen the security in our
primary and secondary schools.
"We are collaborating with the Nigeria
police force which is currently training a school’s protection squad (SPS). We
have made adequate budgetary provisions for effective implementation of our
safe school programme.”
He listed measures being implemented as; fencing of schools, the establishment
of security and safety response committees with membership drawn from schools
and communities, deployment of Kaduna Vigilance Service (KADVS) to schools,
provision of emergency lines to schools, security awareness training for school
managers, teaching and non-teaching staff and school-based management committee
members, construction of muster points in schools, training on identification
of early warning signs, and construction of watch tower in schools.
“I hope that this capacity building
programme will not only equip the participants with the skills and techniques
of coping in challenging security situations but will develop a framework for
psychological operations and strategic communication to win the hearts and
minds of citizens in conflict-challenged communities,” he said.
“Security forces must hold regular meetings with elders, religious leaders, representatives of youth and women groups.”
0 Comments