News

Kaduna State Government Plans School Mergers Amid Bandit Activities

Written by Jerry Alomatu on May 9, 2024

News Views: 271

Amidst ongoing banditry, the Kaduna State government has announced intentions to consolidate 359 schools in response to the escalating incidents of abductions and kidnappings within the state.

Addressing stakeholders at a forum and during the training of the Schools’ Protection Squad, Governor Uba Sani, represented by Chief of Staff Sani Kila, outlined the initiative to merge schools in vulnerable communities with those in safer areas. This move aims to enhance the safety of schools and protect children from potential attacks by bandits.

The newly launched school protection squad, operating under the Federal Government’s Safe School Initiative, is designed to ensure the security of schools, children, and teachers against all forms of attacks by bandits and terrorists.

Kila highlighted Kaduna’s persistent battle against banditry, terrorism, kidnapping, and other criminal activities, which have disrupted socio-economic activities and posed a threat to the state’s educational revitalization efforts.

“Kaduna state’s educational system is facing a crisis of declining enrolment, with over 200,000 fewer primary school pupils recorded in the 2022/2023 academic session compared to the previous year. This dramatic drop (from 2,111,969 in 2021/2022 to 1,734,704 in 2022/2023) is largely attributed,” he stated

The prevalence of insecurity has forced the consolidation of schools in affected areas, exacerbating the number of out-of-school children. Incidents like the kidnapping of 135 students from the Lea Primary and Junior Secondary School, Kuriga, Chikun local government, illustrate the devastating impact of insecurity on education access and safety.

For more than a decade, Kaduna, like other states in the North West zone, has grappled with severe security challenges orchestrated by bandits and terrorists, including attacks on educational institutions.

Kila emphasized that no nation could achieve its human capital development goals or make developmental strides without ensuring the safety and security of schools. He commended the Federal Government for launching the N144.8 billion safe schools financing plan in 2022, which led to the establishment of the Schools Protection Squad.

“To ensure that the education of our children in conflicts-prone and terrorist-infested areas is not interrupted, we have commenced the merging of 359 schools with those in safe locations,” he said. “We are also implementing our safe school program to strengthen the security in our primary and secondary schools.”

Kila outlined various measures being implemented, including the fencing of schools, establishment of security and safety response committees, deployment of the Kaduna Vigilance Service (KADVS), provision of emergency lines to schools, security awareness training, construction of muster points, and training on identification of early warning signs.

He expressed hope that the capacity-building program would equip participants with skills to cope with challenging security situations and develop a framework for psychological operations and strategic communication to engage citizens in conflict-challenged communities.