FEDERAL GOVERNMENT IDENTIFIES SAFETY AS KEY TO ENHANCED STUDENTS ENROLLMENTS AND REDUCED OUT OF SCHOOL CHILDREN 02-11-23
By Sadiq Aminu The Federal Government has identified safety as key to enhanced enrollment of students into schools and tackling the challenges of out of school children.
The Minister of Interior, Dr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo stated this in Abuja at the National Summit on Safe School Project organized by the Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corp, NSCDC.
He said it is only when children are safe to attend schools even in the most volatile areas in the country that the menace of out of school children would be drastically reduced in the country.
The Minister said for the initiative to be successful, the Nation’s security agencies especially the NSCDC must therefore leverage on the availability of intelligence and always be proactive in it approach to tackling attacks to institutions of learning.
The Commandant General of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corp, NSCDC, Dr. Ahmed Audi said the Centre for Safe School Initiative domiciled at the Headquarters of NSCDC since its establishment in February this year had achieved a lot using the whole-of-Society Approach in collaboration with other security agencies, Civil Society Organizations and donor agencies.
Dr. Audi said although, progress have been made, there are still lot of challenges as out of eighty one thousand five hundred and forty five registered schools in the country only about twenty two thousand three hundred and ninety nine were with perimeter fencing.
He said the Summit with the theme, ” Tackling Identified Threats to Nigeria Safe School Project” was carefully chosen in an attempt to address this perceived threats militating against the successful implementation of the Safe School Project in Nigeria.
The Minister of Education, Professor Tahir Mamman represented by the Director, Education Support Services in the Federal Ministry of Education, Dr. Lydia Giginna said every attack on schools and students is an attack on the future of the country.
She therefore urged all Nigerians to unite and stop the threats to the nation’s education sector through incessant attacks by criminals.
The Speaker of the Children’s Parliament, Progress Umoh who spoke on behalf of other students applauded the initiative and urged all stakeholders to continue to work together to achieve the target goal.