FG committed to security, safety in education institutions —Minister

THE Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu, has reiterated the commitment of the Federal Government to the provision of security and safety in the nation’s educational institutions.

Speaking at a stakeholders’ meeting in Abuja, Adamu said the government was concerned about occasioned attacks on schools, especially in the North East and is taking measures to ensure safety in schools across the country.

He noted that in addition to various interventions of government on security and safety in educational institutions, the Safe Schools Initiative had been strengthened to address the security challenges across the North East and other flashpoints across the country.

Adamu disclosed that since the inception of insurgency in  North East Nigeria, education had been under constant and systematic attack resulting in the killing of both learners and teachers and destruction of education facilities.

He said: “Over 2,295 teachers have been killed and 19,000 displaced in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states in the last nine years.

“An estimated 1,500 schools have been destroyed since 2014, with over 1,280 casualties among teachers and students. The crisis has further devastated the education system as children, teachers and schools are in the frontline of the conflict,” he said.

The minister, however, disclosed that in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Finance and the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), the Federal Ministry of Education has rehabilitated some schools and provided temporary facilities for learning, in areas where educational institutions were damaged.

He also disclosed that the ministry has coordinated enrollment drive and Back-to-School campaign, in four states: Adamawa, Yobe, Borno and Gombe with the support of the United Nations Children’s Education Fund (UNICEF).

According to him, as a result of collaborative efforts, 62 temporary learning spaces were established in Yobe, Borno and Gombe states with the provision of tents in Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps.

He said the ministry also in collaboration with UNICEF, provided a total of 197,660 school bags and 2,758 school-in-box packages which were delivered to the four affected states of Adamawa, Borno, Gombe and Yobe.