Some secondary school students in Kaduna State have urged stakeholders in the education sector to support the government in ensuring safe schools for children to continue to learn.
The students made the call in Kaduna on Wednesday at a one-day step-down training for schools to implement recommendations on Safe Schools Declaration (SSD) in Kaduna State.
The training was organised by some Civil Society Organisations (CSOs).
They are: Hope for Communities and Children (H4CC), Girl Child Concern (GCC) and Community Outreach for Educational Change (COEC) with support from Ford Foundation and Development Research and Projects Centre.
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One of the students, Ismail Umar of Capital School Kaduna described the consistent attacks on schools as a “serious threat” to the development of children.
He pointed out that students were living in fear while in school not knowing if they would make it back home due to the likelihood of being attacked.
“I pray every day before coming to school. My concern is to be safe and remain safe while in school.
“The safe school declaration is a timely initiative and should be supported by all relevant stakeholders to keep us safe in school.’’
Umar also called on every school in the state to work with community structures to put security protocols in place to keep learners safe.
Another student, Raliyatu Mohammed, expressed deep concern about reports of children being kidnapped and urged stakeholders to support the government to protect schools to keep students safe.
Similarly, Mrs Titilola Adeeko, Guidance and Counsellor, Zamani College, Kaduna, said that schools should be more proactive in protecting students who were very vulnerable to attacks.
“Communities must support the government in protecting their children against any form of attacks and educate them on how to remain safe while in school,” she said.
Earlier, Mr Isah Suleiman of H4CC said that the objective of the meeting was to equip students and teachers with relevant skills on how to make schools safe.
Suleiman said that the meeting was also to mobilise community stakeholders like the School-Based Management Committees, disability communities and other critical stakeholders to support safe school initiatives.
According to him, the main goal is to ensure implementation of the International Conference on SSD, held in Abuja in Oct. 2021 in the state.
He explained that the SSD was a commitment from governments around the world to keep schools, students, and teachers safe in times of conflicts.
On her part, the Executive Director, COEC, Ms Santa Bonat, said that schools had become a breeding ground for all kinds of violence against learners.
She said that SSD was to ensure continuation of education during armed conflicts and the implementation of concrete measures to deter security forces from using schools during crises.
Also, GCC Head of Admin and Human Resource, Mrs Amina Inuwa, said that community structures and other stakeholders must support government efforts as a sustainable way of keeping learners safe.
Mrs Aishatu Mohammed, the Deputy Director, Female Education, Ministry of Education, thanked the CSOs supporting the government to keep schools, students, and teachers safe.
Mohammed said that the state government was doing the best it could to ensure all schools were secured and safe, adding that efforts were ongoing to construct perimeter fences in all schools across the state.
According to her, without a safe and secured environment, children cannot be educated and called on stakeholders to support ongoing efforts.
“In addition to this, the ministry of education will soon inaugurate an online platform for parents, guardians, teachers and other stakeholders to interact.
“With the application, parents will be able to find out from teachers if their children were in school or not, while stakeholders will be able to monitor what is going on in schools. (NAN)
