The Zandam Area Development Association (ZADA), a non-government organisation (NGO), in collaboration with We-Girls Development Initiatives and M.S Ideas, has conducted one-day safety training for 9,000 secondary school students in Katsina State.
They were trained in skills of school evacuation and security tips during banditry attacks and school invasions.
Addressing reporters at the one-day training which was held at Government Girls’ Senior Secondary School Katsina, the Chief Executive Officer M.S and Data Mustapha Shehu, said the training was necessary as a result of incessant attacks and abductions of school students across the state and the country at large, which, according to him, had shown that schools are no longer safe.
He further explained that step down training on safe schools’ declaration and escapes plans in the state, will assist in educating the students with the requisite knowledge on how to escape with minimum harm as well as provide first aid treatment for their fellow students if there is any sudden attack.
He said: “The project is also championed by the state Ministry of Education, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and other partners to meet the set target of training about 9,000 students in the state.”
The Coordinator of the ZADA association, Ambassador Gidado Sulaiman Fafaru, said most schools in Katsina State have relocated to cities because of banditry attacks in their localities. He called on the state government to support the initiative to achieve the target of ensuring the safety of schools.
He called on parents and guardians of the students to also wake up to their responsibilities of inculcating good morals in their children for a better society.