Sylvanus Viashima, Jalingo
Following the abduction and subsequent gruesome murder of five year old pupil Hanifa allegedly by her school teacher in Kano and other incidents of bullying in schools across the country, the Speaker of Taraba State House of Assembly Professor Joseph Albasu Kunini has called for more security sensitization in schools across the country.
The Speaker who made the call in Jalingo on Monday while interacting with pressmen after Plenary said that if children are no longer safe in the hands of their teachers and school management, then the future of education is under serious threat.
Kunini consoled with the families of those who have lost their loved ones under such circumstances and those who’s children have been taken captives by terrorists and call for concerted efforts to reverse the trend before it does irrevocable damage to the school system especially in the North.
“As you are well aware, the news of the gruesome murder of the five year old Hanifa is just as devastating as that of several other children who have died so untimely and gruesomely. It is as if we have lost our humanity as a people.
“It is very important for schools to take more proactive measures to ensure the security of lives of the children. I think we need a lot of sensitization in schools to train school workers on the signs to look out for to identify any danger. The students equally need to be trained and drilled on how to speak up and avoid certain things that put them in harm’s way.
“If this ugly incidents in our schools is not checked now, the tendency is for most parents to not even put their children in harm’s way. They would simply not take them to schools again. Already, the level of out of school children especially in the North is alarming and anything that would exacerbate that trend should be nibbed in the bud.
“As a legislature, we have already provided a legal framework to ensure that those who decide to trample on the rights of children and other vulnerable sections of the society face terrible consequences. As times changes, we would continue to amend that law to make sure it is in tune with contemporary realities”.
The Speaker expressed worry over recent reports about activities of bandits in the state and urged security agencies to step up their games to ensure that the relative peace enjoyed in the state does not deteriorate further.
