- By Innocent Bako
The long holidays are over and it’s another season of school resumptions. Many parents are saddled with the responsibilities of paying school fees, buying new school uniforms, new textbooks as well as other school paraphernalias. In the past, those were the only worries that confronted them as their children and wards resumed school. Not anymore.
In recent years, the advent of banditry and kidnapping in the country has brought another worry. That is, the targeting of school children by criminals. There have been more than a few instances when innocent children have been kidnapped, one of the latest crimes that seem to defy solutions. However, the government is not resting on its oars.
In 2022, the federal government launched the Safe Schools Financing Plan with the N144.8b. Agencies involved are the Federal Ministry of Education, Nigeria Police, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Department of State Security (DSS) and Defense Headquarters. And thankfully, the Kaduna State government led by Senator Uba Sani has not only keyed into the programme but is expanding on it, ensuring parents’ minds can be at rest as their children and wards resume a new academic year.
Earlier in the year, February to be precise, Governor Sani initiated the Safe-School-Initiative. Also in May, at a stakeholders forum and training session for the newly established Schools’ Protection Squad (SPS), Governor Sani lamented how insecurity caused low school attendance and raised the number of out-of-school children. Speaking at the training, he cited how events like the kidnapping of 135 students from the LEA Primary and Junior Secondary School, Kuriga, Chikun LGA eroded confidence in accessing basic education.
“Kaduna is one of the states that has been waging a sustained battle against banditry, terrorism, kidnapping and other forms of criminality” the governor said, of the crisis the state’s educational sector is facing.
“These non – state actors have disrupted socio – economic activities in the affected communities and are threatening our educational revitalization programme. Kaduna State’s educational system is facing a crisis of declining enrolment, with over 200,000 fewer primary school pupils recorded in the 2022/2023 academic session compared to the previous year. This dramatic drop (from 2,111,969 in 2021/2022 to 1,734,704 in 2022/2023) is largely attributed to insecurity. In several Local Government Areas (LGAs) particularly Chikun, Birnin Gwari, Kajuru, Giwa, and Igabi insecurity has forced school consolidation, further pushing up the number of out-of-school children.
Read Also: FG to adopt Digital Travel Credential to ease air travel
But the government would not fold its arms and just lament. And what solutions are the administration pursuing?
“To ensure that the education of our children in conflict-prone and terrorist-infested areas is not interrupted, we have commenced the merging of 359 schools with those in safe locations,” Sani proffered.
“We are also implementing our ‘Safe School Program’ to strengthen the security in our primary and secondary schools. We are collaborating with the Nigeria Police Force which is currently training a Schools Protection Squad (SPS).”
That happened in May 2024. Figures of the 2022/2023 academic session show that primary school enrolment in the state dropped by over 200, 000 pupils. A worried Governor attributed this drop to insecurity, particularly in areas such as Chikun, Birnin Gwari, Kajuru, Giwa and Igabi. However, the state government has adopted security measures to protect educational institutions, students and teachers from attacks orchestrated by bandits and terrorists.
According to the Governor Sani, part of the measures the state government adopted to ensure safety of school children included constructing perimeter fencing around schools, establishing Security and Safety Response Committees with membership drawn from schools and communities. Others are deploying Kaduna Vigilance Service (KADVS) to schools, provision of emergency line to schools and security management training for School Managers among others. It is commendable that the KADVS is being encouraged and equipped to protect schools in the state. As it is now, over 5, 000 personnels are engaged School Protection Guards for the purpose of safety in Kaduna schools.
Also, speaking earlier in the year, the Commander of KADVS, Brig Gen. Umar Ibrahim (Rtd) praised the state government for its support. He also said that the corps is not only involved in protecting schools but also primary healthcare facilities and Ministries, Departments and Agencies in the state. He said that within one month of assuming office, Governor Sani recruited 7, 500 personnel into KADVS to join the existing 7, 000 personnel, bringing the current strength of personnel to 14, 500. According to Ibrahim, it is only in Kaduna State that such a huge number exists.
Another proactive measure that the governor has put in place is movement of schools from high risk areas to safer areas. This way, more schools are concentrated in safer areas, out of the easy reach of terrorists.
“To ensure uninterrupted education for children residing in conflict-prone and terrorist-infested areas, this administration has commenced the merging of 359 schools with those situated in safer locations,” Governor Sani said.
Surely, Governor Sani demonstrated visionary thinking by the strategy of merging the schools. Also, by strengthening the local vigilance group like the Amotekun Corps in the southwest, the state has shown it is ready to confront the menace of insecurity squarely. The locals know the terrain as well as or maybe even better than the bandits. They, collaborating with other federal forces, are better positioned to tackle the menace. It is good that the state government is fully supporting KADVS in terms of providing equipment and logistics.
The Kaduna State government knows that investing in basic education is a sine qua non for future growth and development. Within the first year of the Sani-led administration, it built 2,326 new primary school classrooms, accommodating 93,040 pupils and built 62 secondary schools across the state. In May 2024, the state inaugurated two blocks of 24 classrooms at Basic Education Primary School, Rafin Guza, in Kaduna North Local Government Area. The school has 7,326 pupils, the second most populated school in the state, second to Basic Education Primary School, Lokoja Road, Rigasa in Igabi Local Government Area. A two-storey block of 12 classrooms at Basic Education School, Maraban Jos, Igabi Local Government Area was commissioned. The state government also provided 30,742 two-seater desks to sit 61,484 pupils in schools equipped with hygienic toilets and hand pumps for potable drinking water. Through this, the state was able to attract more children to school in the 2023/2024 academic session and reduced the number of out-of-school children from an estimated 680, 000 by over 300, 000.
The Sani-led administration also understands that to ensure all children get access to education, it must think and act beyond the optics of just providing school buildings, equipment and even producing qualitative teaching personnel. It has to primarily ensure safety of lives and property. Hence, the state government’s partnership with federal security forces to ensure students can learn in peace while parents are also free from worry, is highly commendable.
It is gladdening that as schools resume now, the security architecture is more solid than it was, thanks to Kaduna’s seriousness to addressing insecurity. Other governors, particularly those in northern Nigeria can do well to emulate Governor Sani on this.
•Bako is a public affairs commentator