Education

FG moves to curb rising cases of bullying in schools, unveils youth training programme

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2 days ago

The Federal Government has officially launched the 2025 National Policy on Anti-bullying in Schools and its implementation guidelines to create a safe learning environment for children in schools.

The new policy developed by the Federal Ministry of Education and approved by the National Council on Education (NCE) was officially launched in Abuja by the Minister of Education, Dr Olatunji Alausa, with the support from the Minister of State for Education, Professor Suwaiba Ahmad Said.

The growing incidents of bullying among secondary school students have been a great source of concern to both parents, teachers and the government, prompting the Minister of Education, Dr Alausa, to order an accelerated action on the anti-bullying policy to address the menace.

According to him, the policy is aimed at instilling discipline and improving the education sector and the society in general.

In order to ensure strict enforcement, the Minister inaugurated members of the anti-bullying committee drafted from the Ministry and other agencies of the government.

He equally congratulated members of the committee, urging them to ensure effective implementation of the 2025 guidelines to protect children in schools.

Minister of State for Education, Professor Suwaiba Ahmad Said, noted that “for ministry and other stakeholders, bullying in school by whatever form, whether physical, emotional or verbal, will not be tolerated.”

A committee which includes Hajai Binta Abdulkadir and Boriowo Folashade, Director of Press of the ministry was also inaugurated to ensure effective implementation of the policy.

The Minister of State for Education said the committee members were carefully selected to include experts in education, psychology, and student’s welfare to ensure effective outcomes.

“And they are entrusted to come up with effective strategies not only to prevent but to address bullying in our schools. This committee is the catalyst to the change we seek,” she said.

According to her, “the mission of the ministry is to create an enabling environment, a safe and respectful and also inclusive learning environment for every child in our country.”

Meanwhile, the Federal Government has disclosed plans to train over five million Nigerian youths, equipping them with various skills set in the next five years under its Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) programmes.

Minister of Education, Dr. Olatunji Alausa, spoke during the 2025 Quarterly Citizens and Stakeholders Engagement on the Nigeria Education Sector Renewal Initiative (NESRI) held in Abuja.

Speaking on the efforts to revamp technical education in Nigeria, Alausa revealed that the government has upgraded 38 federal and state technical colleges nationwide for TVET training as part of a broad reform to equip Nigerian youths with internationally competitive skills.

He noted that the government was targeting 650,000 enrollees in the TVET programme, saying the initiative aims to shift Nigeria’s education system toward a skill-based, knowledge-driven economy. Besides, he said the government has trained 3,600 teachers nationwide in pedagogy and trade-specific areas.

The Minister also revealed that the government had introduced a dual-training model in the technical colleges, with students spending 80 percent of their time in practical training and 20 percent in the classroom.

He said, “Artisans will be paid to mentor trainees, establishing a new value chain in the education sector.

“Our goal is to train five million young Nigerians with globally relevant skills within four years”.

According to him, “NESRI addresses issues of access, quality, inclusivity, research, and professional development in education.”

Highlighting the challenges, Alausa noted that Nigeria currently has 15 million out-of-school children and over 45 million classified as learning poor.

He said adolescent girls, particularly the 6 million aged 12-19 currently out of school, remained a key focus of the reforms.

Alausa said there was no going back on his earlier announcement that the National Examinations Council and the West African Examinations Council would begin conducting computer-based tests (CBT) from November 2025, with full digitization of all national examinations, including by 2027.

He said the aim was to tackle examination fraud and enhance integrity.

The Minister of State for Education, Prof. Suwaiba Ahmad, emphasised the importance of TVET in addressing Nigeria’s skills gap and reducing reliance on foreign workers.

“We have seen companies hiring 60 percent of their workforce from abroad. That must change,” she said.

Chairman of the Senate Committee on Tertiary Institutions and TETFund, Senator Muntari Dandutse, pledged legislative support for the reforms, calling education “the heart of national transformation.”