From Olanrewaju Lawal, Birnin Kebbi
An NGO, Active Support for Rural People’s Initiative (ASURPI), says that it has begun sensitisation of students, teachers and other stakeholders on safe schools in Kebbi State to avert abduction of students.
Alhaji Ibrahim Ngaski, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), ASURPI, made the disclosure while briefing Journalists in Birnin Kebbi, the state capital on Sunday.
The abduction of innocent young students in Nigeria has become worrisome as the case in Chibok, Borno State, Kankara, Katsina State, Tegina, Niger State, Birnin Yauri, Kebbi State among others.
Ngaski recalled that in March 2019, the Federal Executive Council (FEC) had approved for Nigerian Government to put in place a national policy to guide the implementation of Safe School Declaration (SSD) nationwide, adding that the FEC also gave approval for national policy to guide the implementation of SSD which resulted in the development of a national policy on safety and security in schools.
He said the sensitisation exercise was being carried out by ASURPI in collaboration with Nana Girls for Women and Girls Empowerment Initiative with support from Development Research and Project Centre (DRPC) and Ford Foundation.
The CEO said the sensitisation was meant to enlighten relevant stakeholders, including; students, teachers, parents, members of School Base Management Board Committee (SBMC), security personnel, host communities and government on necessary measures towards ensuring safety in schools.
Ngaski added that they sensitised over 50 students and teachers of Government Girls Secondary School, Alwasa in Argungu Local Government and organised a Focused Group Discussion (FGD) on Safe School Declaration (SSD) in the community to ascertain the level of perception of the concept.
He said the NGO also carried out four radio programmes to properly disseminate safe school declaration as well as sensitisation for safe schools declaration to SBMCs, Parents Teachers Associations (PTAs) and security personnel.
Ngaski noted that for proper implementation of safe school declaration, the NGO held series of sensitisation workshops and came up with certain recommendations.
The workshops, he said, recommended a combine security outpost to all schools far away from towns to ensure protection of schools and students in Kebbi State and implementation of SSD initiative in all schools across the state.
Others according to him, are; government should provide parameter fence with verve wire to schools without such facilities and farming within and outside the schools should be suspended except for leguminous crops, while planting of non leguminous crops should be 100 metres away from the school parameter fence.
“This to intensify security in all boarding schools to prevent attacks particularly boarding schools in rural areas.
The workshops equally recommended that SBMC in all public schools should be alive to their responsibilities to ensure safety of schools.
“The stakeholders at the workshops urge Kebbi State Government to ensure all security personnel deployed to schools have the needed fire arms to discharge their duties.
“They also urge the state ministry of education to put in place a good and sustainable monitoring and evaluation mechanism and ensure establishment of school safety clubs in all secondary schools,” the officer said.