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From Uche Usim, Abuja
In a move aimed at reducing the number of out of school children, State governments, military forces, paramilitary outfits, intelligence agencies, Ministries Departments and Agencies have joined forces to tackle terrorism through the safe school initiative.
The effort draws inspiration from the high-level Forum on Financing Safe Schools-Creating Safe Learning Communities held in April, 2021, which resulted in the Abuja Compact 2021.
Speaking at the event, the Permanent Secretary, Special Duties, Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mr
Aliyu Shinkafi, said the urgent need to decimate the insecurity monster could not be overemphasized, since attacks on schools were wrecking the appetite of pupils and students to acquire formal education.
He added that the fusion of efforts of all relevant stakeholders was the only way to defeat terror and return schools to their former glory.
“We are all aware of the blight of insecurity that has befallen our nation, of interest to us as stakeholders is the incessant attacks on our schools across the country that have disrupted the education sector. One of the resultant effect is the declaration of Nigeria as having the highest out-of-school children.
“This crisis led to constitution of a Steering Committee and Secretariat for the financing Safe Schools to engage critical stakeholders in the quest to develop and launch a National Plan for Financing Safe Schools. “Thus, costed action plans and strategy papers from relevant critical stakeholders collated at the Federal level, hence, the need to harness and aggregate State level.
“The Federal Government is committed to ensuring a safer teaching and learning environment. In the same vein, the Ministry has committed to creating adequate budgetary allocation for Financing Safe Schools activities,” Shinkafi stated.
Also speaking, the Head, Financing Safe Schools in Nigeria, Mrs Halima Ville urged all stakeholders to contribute immensely into the formulation of the National Document on Financing Sate Schools in Nigeria. “This is the document that will outline how the Nigerian Government hope to address the challenges of insecurity in the education sector and ensure a safer and more secured teaching, learning and living environment in all its schools and learning centers, and the roles expected from various stakeholders, including National and Sub-national Governments, Schools Communities, Host Communities, Local and International, Non-Governmental Organization, International Agencies and donor partners.
“The Plan aims to set out three-year spending plans for financing and creating Safe learning in Nigeria”, she said.
