APCI Holds Bullying, Violence Impact Summit 

Funmi Ogundare 

African Principals Conference Initiative (APCI) is set to hold a summit on bullying and violence in schools aimed at stamping out vices in schools across the country.

The summit will be held at the Abuja Nugget Hotel, Utako, on October 28 and at Lagos Airport Hotel on October 31.

Briefing journalists in Lagos, the Director, Mr. Joseph Ayodele, expressed hope about making schools safe for learning, noting that his organisation had conducted studies to reduce the incidents.

“We do research on things that are working and others that are not working. When we visit schools, we have carried out innovative workshops on effective bullying interventions and prevention approaches since 2021, including the 2023 baseline tracking study on students’ wellbeing and bullying in Nigerian schools,” said Ayodele.

He described bullying as a significant challenge facing young people in Nigeria, with serious implications for their mental health, academic performance and overall well-being.

Ayodele recalled that bullying has resulted in the death of students of leading schools and the imprisonment of educators in Nigeria, adding that the summit will raise awareness about the prevalence and detrimental effects of bullying in Nigerian schools and discuss effective evidence-based strategies and interventions to prevent and respond to bullying.

Other objectives include fostering collaboration and knowledge-sharing among participants to strengthen the national response to the issue and mobile resources, both financial and in-kind, to support the implementation of anti-bullying initiatives in schools, with a National Week of Action Against Bullying and Violence in African Schools.

The programme is scheduled to be held between November 11 and 15 in every place of learning.

“The APCI will be supporting schools with essential resources for a good execution,” he stated, adding that every participant must have bullying policy in their schools and organise a programme against bullying.