Amid increasing rate of abduction of students in educational institutions in some parts of the country, a group operating under the aegis of Women Advocates Research and Documentation Centre (WARDC) has called on the government to take immediate action to secure schools across the country.
The group emphasized the necessity for the government to establish a comprehensive legal framework and domesticate the Safe School Declaration (SSD) to ensure school safety throughout all regions.
Nigeria had in 2015, adopted SSD, which is a global initiative that started in Norway to respond to issues of safety and security in schools. Since then, there have been repeated mass abductions of students across the country.
At a media roundtable held in Lagos with the support of the United Nations Democracy Fund (UNDEF), the founding director of WARDC, Dr Abiola Akiyode-Afolabi stated that the gathering was to respond to issues of safety and security in schools.
She stated that, over time, people have seen how issues of safety and security in schools have turned out in Nigeria.
“From the Chibok girls’ abduction to the recent attack in Kaduna State, about 200 students were taken away from that school, though they have been returned.
“As we know, Nigeria has one of the highest populations of out-of-school children. Incidences like kidnapping and violence would make students not want to go to school. Parents would not be able to encourage their children to go to school. We know that education is important in terms of growth and development. It builds a smart economy.
“But we felt that it had reached a state of emergency for the government to do something more to ensure the safety and security of students in school.
“Everyone in Nigeria is connected to a child in school or an adult in school and because of that, it should be an issue that should affect all of us. So, there should be a minimum standard upon which schools should operate in Nigeria that will be able to enable safety and security.”
