From Okwe Obi, Abuja
Worried by the spate of kidnappings in schools, the Civil Society Action Coalition on Education For All (CSACEFA), has appealed to the Federal Government, to deploy security personnel to school in order to safeguard pupils.
CSACEFA’s National Moderator, Omole Babatunde Alexander, who made the appeal recently in Abuja, implored government to shore up budgetary allocation for education to, at least 25 percentage.
Alexander stressed that for Nigeria to produce quality graduates, government must employ competent teachers and pay them handsomely to enable them impact knowledge on students.
He, also, drew the attention of government to the deplorable infrastructures, saying those, too, should be fixed including the purchase of modern technology to aid teaching and learning.
“In the recent past when you look at insecurity around our school system especially infrastructure, it is something that is disheartening.
“In the last twelve months, there have been massive adoptions of school children especially in the northern part of Nigeria.
“It calls for action. It is something that is not too good for our nation. It is not still good for the holistic development of our education.
“Because if you look around us, you will see that we are still battling with the low enrollment and high number of out of school children.
“As at now, according to UNICEF, we have about 10 million children that are out of school in Nigeria.
“And we are coming out as civil society organisation with strategies in ensuring that people especially children are back to school and to have access to good, quality, all-inclusive and safe education.
“But when the insecurity issue comes in, you will realise that it is making it much more difficult.
“As at today, I am not sure most government schools are in session because of the fear of adoption. Inasmuch as the financing is not that physical it might not be out of place to put the right infrastructure in place and personnel to ensure the safety of our children who are in school.
“According to UNESCO, in order to have education for all is for governments to have at least 25 percentage of the national budget being put in place for education. Some other people said it should be around 20 per cent and Nigeria adopted it that they want to do 15 per cent.
“At the moment, there has never been anytime we have done more than 10 per cent. At the last budget, we have about 5.7 per cent being budgeted for education,” he said.