A Nongovernmental Organizations, Active Support for Rural People Initiative (ASURPI), Nana Girls and Women Empowerment Initiatives in partnership with Development Research and Projects Centre (DRPC) and Ford Foundation, has sensitized students of Secondary Schools and Stakeholders on Safe Schools Declaration (SSD) in Kebbi State.
Speaking on the sensitization at Government Girls Secondary School Alwasa in Argungu Local Government Area of Kebbi State, spokesperson for Active Support for Rural People Initiative (ASURPI), Ibrahim Ngaski, said the idea behind having minimum standard for safe schools was to provide tools that could certify schools were safe for teaching and learning.
Ngaski, sited example with the abduction of 276 Chibok girls in Borno State in May 2014 and others which he said became imperative for Nigerian Government to set in motion guidelines that would protect the rights to high quality and equitable education for all in the country.
According to him, Safe School Initiatives would be an immediate response plan to attack against education especially in states of emergency which involved abduction of students, killing of teachers and destruction of schools infrastructure.
He noted that, the initiatives focused more on Schools Base and Community Interventions to protect Schools and Special measures for at risk populations.
Ngaski pointed out that, carrying out the sensitization would further strengthen the capacity of all stakeholders to be more proactive in response to any attack on education, being it abduction, killings and destruction of educational infrastructure.
Aliyu Adamu, spokesperson for Nana Girls and Women Empowerment Initiatives, stressed the importance of Safety measures and alert of warning system in schools considering the current security situations of schools in the country.
“Gender Based Violence in Schools, Psychological violence, Child Friendly School, Conflict, Corporal Punishment, Abduction, Bullying, Child abuse, early warning system, Natural hazards, Human Made disasters and Physical violence all these and many mores when put in place or being address properly we could say we have Minimum Standards safety in our schools”.
The stakeholders agreed on the need to work together in order to have safe schools and many more actions that would make the initiative more effective.
Those in attendance include Teachers, Students, Schools Base Management Committee, Parents Teachers Association, Various Security Agents and Youths.
Abdullahi Tukur
