Nigeria cannot afford to leave attacks on schools unaddressed- UN
The United Nationa resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Nigeria, Mr. Edward Kallon, has condemned in strong terms incessant attacks on schools and kidnapping that have affected thousands of children in a number of states in the country.
According to him, Nigeria cannot afford to leave incessant attacks on schools unaddressed.
In a statement commemorating the 2021 International Day to Protect education from Attack, on Thursday, Kallon noted that 1.3 million children had been impacted by attacks or abductions from schools in Nigeria in the last academic year.
He described this as a direct attack on the future generation, adding that it was traumatic for the children , undermined their individual dignity and sometimes made the affected families to withdraw them from school entirely.
The statement was titled, “UN condemns attack on schools, calls for more efforts to protect students and ensure uninterrupted teaching and learning”.
Kallon asked the Federal Government to review the progress made in implementing safe schools under the UN declaration and fully put into practice commitments made in 2019 by taking decisive action to protect education from attack and give “this great nation’s children the chance to fulfil their promise”.
The resident coordinator observed that “whenever teaching and learning is disrupted, the impact on human capital development is enormous as the recovery period is always tortuous and longer than the length of the initial disruption.
“Children are traumatized, parents are scared, teachers and school administrators are afraid, attacks on school are gradually spreading to areas not known to insurgencies. With education under attack, the collective future of Nigeria is under threat. This must stop now.
“Across the North-East region alone, over 600,000 children remain out of school and some 1.1 million need educational support to stay in school. This has all been compounded by the setbacks due to Covid-19 pandemic”.
Meanwhile, following the rising insecurity in the North-West, especially the kidnapping of school children, the Adamawa state government has employed the services of local hunters and vigilantes to protect schools.
The State Commissioner for Education, Wilbina Jackson, announced this on Thursday in Yola during the commemoration of the Day to Protect Education against Attack in Adamawa.
Jackson said the neighbourhood guards will be complementing the work of other security agents to prevent abductors and other criminals from attacking schools across the state.
Speaking during a programme organized jointly by her ministry and the Education in Emergencies Working Group Nigeria, the commissioner said the government was leaving nothing to chance in protecting the schools and students.
Recalling that the government recently suspended boarding facilities in schools, the commissioner noted that the engagement of local hunters and vigilantes was an additional safety measure for students.
