President Muhammadu Buhari has disclosed that the persistent attacks on educational facilities and abductions of students and teachers have left more than 12 million children currently traumatized and afraid of going to school especially the girl-child.
He, however, reiterated the commitment of his administration to the safety and protection of schools in the country, vowing to overhaul the educational system not just to improve on the quality but ensure the provision of a secured environment for learners and teachers.
Buhari, who was represented by his Chief of Staff, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari, spoke at the 4th International Conference on Safe Schools Declaration which had the theme: “Ensuring Safe Education for All: From Commitment to Practice“, which was held in Abuja on Monday.
He lamented that in recent times, all over the world, there has been a myriad of persistent attacks on education and Nigeria is also having its fair share of these attacks.
According to him, “The incessant attacks on the country’s education system such as kidnapping, abduction of pupils/students, increased activities of insurgents and general insecurity in our schools have exacerbated many factors responsible for the growing number of out-of-school children.
The president said it was disheartening to note that even when the abducted students were released, the trauma of the incident remain long in their minds hence the plan to have teachers trained on psychosocial support.
He recalled that the first known abduction of school children in Nigeria took place in 2014, when 276 girls were taken from the Government Secondary School Chibok, Borno State, North-East Nigeria, saying since then, attacks on schools and abductions of students have grown in number and spread across the northern part of the country.
Buhari noted that it has been tough dealing with the security challenges and their effect, stressing that moving forward, the faith in the nation is unshaken.
The Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, in his welcome address, said the objective of the conference was to build on experiences from the previous ones, highlight’ progress made by respective countries on the implementation of the declaration’s commitments, share best practices and deliberate on challenges to Improve the relevant approaches that would enhance the protection of learners, education personnel and educational institutions.
