Government must safeguard schools in the north

Education is the bedrock of any meaningful society. The recent attacks on schools in the northern part of the country are not only alarming but terrible.

Several reports have indicated that the northern part of the country accounts for more than 10 million out-of-school children and the situation may get worse with the rise in insecurity in the region.

The situation is becoming scary and uncertain as some state governments shut down their schools. Even more worrisome is the recent killing of five abducted students of Greenfield University in Kaduna State.

The impact of these on the education sectors in the north may be grievous. It may deter many parents from sending their children to school further escalating the number of outof-school children

Governments should rise up to their responsibility by protecting the citizenry especially the students who are the future of the country. Attacks on education facilities should not be allowed to continue. It is dangerous and it must stop now.

There is, therefore, an urgent need for government to revisit the Safe Schools Declaration (SSD), which is an intergovernmental political commitment that provides countries with the opportunity to express support for protecting students, teachers, schools, and universities from attack during times of armed conflict; the importance of the continuation of education during armed conflict; and the implementation of concrete measures to deter the military use of schools.

I wish to conclude with this quote by Pakistani education campaigner, Malala Yousafzai who says, “With guns, you can kill terrorists, but with education, you can kill terrorism.”

Tabitha Joshua Galia, Department of Mass Communication, University of Maiduguri