The Nigerian government has to promptly reassess its paramount objectives in relation to the safety of primary and Secondary School in the country. It was recently disclosed by the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps that out of 5,474 schools are part of the project, 2,851 schools still lack the necessary security measures. Initially, the program was initiated in response to the concerning increase in school attacks, particularly after Boko Haram kidnapped 276 schoolgirls from Chibok, Borno State, in April 2014. However, the fact that so many schools lack proper security indicates that more work has to be done to safeguard children across the country.
Numerous international organizations, such as UNICEF, the Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack (GCPEA), and the United Nations, have endorsed the effort. These organizations offer global advocacy, expertise and funding for the project. The Safe School Project covers training on fundamental safety and security techniques for educators, students, and other members of the school community. At the early stage, the Safe School Project concentrated on Nigeria’s most at risk regions, especially in the northeastern states where Boko Haram poses a major danger. These areas’ successful pilot projects served as precedents for more widespread adoption across the nation.
Reach of the project has been limited by several factors.
With an initial funding of $23 million that was received, the project was able to successfully implement safety measures in multiple schools in the early phases, especially in northeastern Nigeria. Despite its early progress, the reach of the project has been limited by funding shortage, corruption, weak monitoring and evaluation. Only a small percentage of the thousands of schools impacted by Insecurity receive the required safety modifications and assistance. The overarching objective of guaranteeing a safe education for every child in conflict-affected areas has not yet been fully achieved as many schools remain vulnerable.
Thousands of children in the region have lost their chance to receive an education due to the ongoing, widespread kidnappings of pupils, particularly girls. 110 schoolgirls from the Government Girls’ Science and Technical College in the Bursari LGA of Yobe State, ages 11 to 19, were abducted by militants from Boko Haram in February 2018. At the Government Science Secondary School in Kankara, Katsina State, more than 300 pupils were abducted in December 2020. In February 2021, a group of bandits abducted more than 300 students from the Government Girls’ Secondary School, Jangebe, located in the Talata Mafara Local Government Area of Zamfara State.
Nearly 2.2m children in the northeast are displaced.
A primary/junior secondary school in Kuriga, Chikun LGA, Kaduna State, was raided by bandits in March 2024, and 137 students were kidnapped. According to a 2021 NBS and UNICEF survey, compared to less than 10 percent of females in the southern states, approximately 50 percent of girls in the North-East and 40 percent of girls in the North-West did not attend primary or lower secondary school. Around 1,400 schools in northern Nigeria were assaulted between 2009 and 2023 by Boko Haram and other armed organizations, resulting in the damage of Infrastructure and Disruption to the education system.
Since 2014, over one thousand pupils have been abducted in numerous attacks at schools in Nigeria. More than 600,000 students in northeastern Nigeria are not receiving an education as of 2023 while more than 1,500 schools there are still closed as a result of insecurity. The uprising has resulted in the displacement of nearly 2.2 million children in northeastern Nigeria, many of whom face severe obstacles in their right to education. In recent years, the Nigerian government has increased funding for school safety and expanded the initiative to other regions in an effort to revitalize the Safe School Project.
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While the project had put safety measures in place in more than 500 schools, mostly in the northeastern Nigerian regions most affected, financing shortfalls still persist, restricting the project’s reach and effectiveness. Due to the high rate of school attacks and kidnappings, Nigeria has been regularly rated among the top five countries in the world in the GCPEA’s “Education Under Attack” report. In order to build on the early accomplishments and address the underlying issues, ongoing efforts and adequate funding is required.