Students are targets of terrorism in Nigeria - Minister reveals, promises security in schools
- The minister of education, Malam Adamu Adamu, has promised to ensure security of students in Federal Unity Colleges and other schools in Nigeria
- Adamu remarked that youths and students are often the targets of terrorism and crisis in Nigeria
- He said that the ministry has come up with a program to sensitise principals and teachers on how to handle security challenges in the country
Malam Adamu Adamu, the minister of education, has promised adequate support for the security of lives and property of students of Federal Unity Colleges and other schools in Nigeria.
The minister gave this promised in Abuja on Monday, April 9, at the inauguration of the central planning committee on security education and awareness campaign for principals and teachers of federal government colleges, The Nation reports.
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Adamu remarked that Nigeria had grown more insecure, especially owing to ethno-religious crisis and terrorism in the north, cultism and ritual killings in the south. He pointed out that what is most worrisome is that the educational institutions had become targets of terrorist activities.
The minister said: “School security is vital to effective teaching and learning. Presently, the safety of the school child is of primary concern to stakeholders in the education sector.
“In different parts of the country, the country, communal and ethnic crisis erupted and hindered the smooth functioning of schools.”
He further said that insecurity in schools is not peculiar to Nigeria.Adamu said that what makes the difference is how the situation is managed. He therefore called for unity among stakeholders to tackle the security challenges in institutions.
Adamu stated that the ministry had also approved the proposal of Security Awareness and Justice Foundation, an NGO, to organise a training programme for principals and teachers on how to deal with security challenges in schools across the country.
He added that a committee with membership from departments responsible for management of unity schools and the NGO was set up to look for ways to address the issue. Mike Okiro, the former Inspector General of Police (IGP) said youths had been the most affected in the recurring violence and crisis in Nigeria.
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He said security awareness by principals and teachers would help to combat most of the problems in the schools. Okiro said: “Like every well meaning Nigerian, our foundation feels greatly concerned about this untoward situation.
“Our focus on this project shall be on children, to whom we remain committed. We have resolved to collaborate with the government in raising the quality of life of every child, regardless of ethnic, creed or circumstance to achieve their full potential without fear of security attacks on their schools.”
Meanwhile, Legit.ng reported that Adamu had disclosed that only 28 candidates from Zamfara state registered for the 2018 national common entrance examination.
Adamu made the disclosure on Wednesday, April 4, when expressing concerns by the federal government about the low number of candidates seeking admission into its 104 colleges across the country, who registered for the 2018 national common entrance examination.
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Source: Legit.ng
