The Governor of Kaduna State, Senator Uba Sani, says 359 public schools across the state are to be relocated soon due to incessant cases of banditry and kidnapping.
Sani announced the decision on Wednesday in Kaduna while speaking at the opening of a one-day capacity-building program organized by the Nigeria Police Force School Protection Squad, Kaduna.
The governor expressed concern over the continuing low enrollment in public schools in the state, saying that this must stop.
Sani attributed the decline to rising wave of general insecurity such as kidnapping, banditry, and other criminal activities in the state.
According to him, the proposed relocation of 359 public schools is part of efforts to address the decline in school enrollment.
He said the affected 359 schools are located in areas affected by terrorism, saying the plan is to merge them with other schools in safer locations.
Sani described as apt the theme of the programme: ‘Strengthening Security Resilience and Integration of Host Communities in the Protection of Education.’
He said : “Incidents like the kidnapping of 135 students from the LEA Primary and Junior Secondary School, Kuriga, Chikun Local Government tragically illustrates the devastating impact of insecurity on education access and safety.
“To ensure that the education of our children in conflict-prone and terrorists-infested areas is not interrupted, we have commenced the merging of 359 schools with those in safe locations,” the governor said.
“Kaduna State is one of the states that has been waging a sustained battle against banditry, terrorism, kidnapping and other forms of criminality.
“These non-state actors have disrupted socio-economic activities in the affected communities and are threatening our educational revitalization programme.
“Kaduna State’s educational system is facing a crisis of declining enrolment, with over 200,000 fewer primary school pupils recorded in the 2022/2023 academic session compared to the previous year.
“This dramatic drop (from 2,111,969 in 2021/2022 to 1,734,704 in 2022/2023) is largely attributed to insecurity.
“In several local government areas, particularly Chikun, Birnin Gwari, Kajuru, Giwa, and Igabi, insecurity has forced school consolidation, further pushing up the number of out-of-school children.”
The governor commended the Inspector-General of Police, Olukayode Egbetokun, for establishing the Schools Protection Squad, a proactive initiative aimed at enhancing security and safety in educational institutions across Nigeria. (vitalnewsngr.com)
