Since 2014 when over 200 Chibok school girls were abducted in that far-flung part of Borno State, Nigeria has continued to experience a rising number of seizure of school children in different parts of the country.
The atrocious disposition of these criminals goes to satisfy the unwholesome philosophy of the Boko Haram sect which classifies western education as abominable.
The tendency holds ominous fate for the nation’s education system which has been already fractured by numerous challenges, including depleting standards in various ramifications.
It is worrisome that the safe schools initiative which was aimed at ensuring a ’sane’ environment for students and teachers has remained a shadow of what its real objectives were.
It is instructive that the National Assembly opened a probe into the policy which has cost tax payers corporate entities humongous sums, beside donations from foreign partners. It is believed that billions of Naira have welled into the fund, yet it is doubtful if the purpose for which it was pooled together has been achieved.
We commend the NASS on its move to probe the operations of that policy and urge that it should go a step further to ensure that it enhances the capacity of the policy towards tightening the loose ends so that such funds should be judiciously appropriated.
Part of the existing challenge is the 18.3 million out-of-school children nationwide, which is driven richly by insecurity and poverty. According to United Nations Children’s Fund ,UNICEF, about 69% of the out-of-school children are in the northern region.
There are already fears that more children in the region will abandon education due to the psychological trauma of witnessing violent attacks or living in captivity.
It is sad that the future of thousands of school children in Northern states remains uncertain, as many schools have been closed indefinitely due to rising security issues. This is more so as hundreds of children were targeted in the surge orchestrated by bandits and religious militants like Boko Haram, ISWAP and other jihadist groups of late.
It is disheartening that a teacher was killed in the Kebbi attack and there have been several deaths in similar encounters. These killings arising from these attacks shows how cheap human lives have become in the country.
While, the Kebbi girls have reportedly been released, it would the incident would leave a lasting impact on the future of education in parts of the north where education has been already fractured by many factors.
The Niger State abduction which took place at St. Mary’s School in Papiri with armed gunmen abducting over 300 students and staff on November 21 were 303 students and 12 teachers were affected is even more scary. This frightening by all standards and holds a bad omen for education in these parts of the country.
It is worrisome that following the incident, the Niger State government ordered the closure of all schools in the state until 2026. The Federal Government also shut down 47 Federal Unity Colleges across Nigeria.
This not a good score sheet for the nation’s education system which is already in deep crises of capacity.
If the country gives in to the onslaught of these bandits, it means it has inadvertently demonstrated that it has reached its wits end in dealing with the situation at hand.
All tiers of government must constitute a national emergency forum with the Federal Government taking the lead towards stopping these criminal elements from crippling the system. AljazirahNigeria views the closure of some unity schools in the country as unnecessary but urge the government to proffer a permanent solution to banditry rather than closing the schools.
There is the need to revisit the safe school initiative with all seriousness so as to curtail these incessant attacks on schools.
