60,000 schools in Nigeria lack adequate security –FG

From Fred Ezeh, Abuja

The Federal Government has revealed that more than 60,000 out of approximately 81,000 schools surveyed nationwide lack adequate security measures. The disclosure was made during a meeting between the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, and the Commandant-General of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Ahmed Audi, on the Safe Schools Initiative in Abuja yesterday.

Dr. Alausa emphasised the government’s zero-tolerance stance on attacks against schools, noting that all necessary measures would be deployed to ensure children’s safety and uninterrupted learning. He announced the establishment of a dedicated Safe Schools Department within the Federal Ministry of Education to coordinate nationwide implementation and strengthen collaboration with the NSCDC.

“We will move from knee-jerk responses to a continuous security presence, especially in vulnerable schools. Our children must remain safe in school, and the government is committed to providing the resources and structures required,” he stated.

Responding, NSCDC Commandant-General Audi described the identified schools as “porous,” citing the absence of security personnel and perimeter fencing as critical vulnerabilities. He explained that the data collected had informed the corps’ operational strategy to safeguard students and learning environments.

Audi noted that funding remains a significant challenge, recalling that although an initial budget of N36 billion was proposed for 2022/2023, only N3.2 billion was ultimately accessed for school protection operations. Despite this, the NSCDC has deployed specialized female squads and community-based security structures, which have successfully prevented over 110 security threats against schools across Nigeria.

The initiative highlights the urgent need for sustained funding and strategic security planning to protect the country’s schoolchildren and create safe learning environments nationwide.