Insurgency Destroys 497 Classrooms, Leaves 2.8m Learners in Need of Support, Says Minister

Funmi Ogundare

The Minister of Education, Malam Adamu Adamu, yesterday, expressed concern about the security situation in the country, saying that insurgency has destroyed 497 classrooms and left 2.8 million school learners in need of education-in-emergency support.

This, he added, has had a negative effect on the literacy level of Nigerians and has led to approximately six of every 10 children under the age of 18 years experiencing some form of violence and half of the children experiencing violence before the age of 10.

Adamu, who was represented by the Director, General Services , Vivian Wategre, made this known  at the 2022  summit of the Education Writers Association of Nigeria( EWAN), themed, ‘ Towards Safe Schools in Nigeria, in Lagos.

He  noted that it has also further aggravated the already challenging out-of-school menace plaguing Nigeria.

“Putting this in context, the attacks on schools are not limited to Nigeria as the trend is global. In the period between 2012 and 2016 alone, more than 600 teachers were reportedly killed in attacks while more than 19,000 were displaced (if this is a global statistics then you may wish to add “globally”),” the minister said.

Despite these challenges, he said the government is not deterred in its commitment to creating a good environment for education, which would increase literacy levels in the country.

He commended EWAN for its efforts in putting together the programme, saying that its actions is a step in the right direction that will help mitigate the effects of the challenges.

The Director, Senior Secondary Education, Federal Ministry of Education, Hajia Binta Abdulkadir,  disclosed that with the efforts put in place by the government including the Basic Education Service Delivery  for All  (BESDA), among other initiatives, the number of out-school-children in the country has reduced drastically and could not have been as high as 20 million as claimed in some quarters.

She noted that the claim by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation( UNESCO), that Nigeria’s current figure of 20 million out-of-school children, might not be correct.

According to her, BESDA, which is in 17 states of the federation, has brought at least four million children back to school.

“The federal government has taken a number of steps that has greatly reduced the figure in recent times. BESDA is one of the steps and through it, we have got over four million children back to school in no fewer than 17 states of the federation,” she said.

The Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, who was represented by his Special Adviser on Education, Mr. Tokunbo Wahab, expressed concern about the security situation in the country, saying that  it should be a collaborative efforts among  all stakeholders.

“The security situation in our country in the last few years is worrisome and there is the need for a concerted effort and repeated advocacy programmes like this, not only to create public awareness on the need to be security conscious, but also, to enable relevant stakeholders come together and fashion out appropriate solutions that can help us as a people to address the current security challenges in our schools, institutions, worship places, motor parks and other places,” he said.

The Chairman of EWAN, Mr. Mojeed Alabi, said the theme was chosen to draw attention to the importance of safety of stakeholders in schools, adding that there is need to address such issues.

“There will be difficulty in addressing other issues in the country if such is not addressed. Having safe schools, is the responsibility of everyone.

“If we do not address the issue of security of schools in Nigeria, it will be difficult to address any issues in the country. President, the National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools (NAPPS),  Chief Yomi Otubela said the association has churned out strategies towards achieving safe schools such as members of staff signing safety policy, and putting up inscriptions on the walls of the school to constantly serve as a safety reminder.”

He noted that safety in schools also includes measures towards averting cyber-bullying, physical bullying, gender violence, among others.