The Federal Government has unveiled new measures aimed at tackling school abductions, insecurity and other emerging threats to basic education across the country.

It said issues of school safety, education in emergencies, climate change and gender-based violence have now been incorporated into key operational guidelines for School-Based Management Committees (SBMCs) documents to strengthen community participation in protecting schools and ensuring uninterrupted learning.

The Executive Secretary, Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), Aisha Garba, disclosed this in Kano on Monday at a three-day training programme on the revised SBMC operational documents for stakeholders from the 19 Northern states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

Represented by head of Community Engagement and Social Mobilisation at the commissione, Patricia Uche, the ES said rising cases of banditry, kidnapping and attacks on schools informed the review.

“One of the major updates is education in crisis. We are talking about recent cases of banditry, kidnapping and other security challenges affecting schools and communities,” she said.

Uche explained that the revised guidelines would help mobilise communities to play more active roles in protecting schools and supporting efforts to keep children in classrooms.

“We have also introduced safe school initiatives because many public primary schools are not fenced and remain vulnerable. We want communities to become more involved in identifying risks and advocating measures that will make schools safer for learners and teachers,” she added.

She said climate change and gender-based violence were also incorporated into the revised documents due to their growing impact on education.

According to her, flooding and extreme weather conditions have continued to damage school infrastructure, while bullying and sexual harassment remain concerns in some schools.

“The reality is that these challenges are affecting education delivery. We have to move with the times and ensure they do not hinder basic education in Nigeria,” she said.

Also speaking, the Chairman, Kano State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), Alhaji Yusuf Kabir, said the state government remained committed to supporting initiatives aimed at improving learning outcomes and school governance.

Represented by the Director of Upper Basic Schools at the board, Maikudi Abdul Al-Alawy, the Chairman said due to the importance the state attached to education, it has for over three years been allocating over 30 percent of its annual budget to education.

Meanwhile, National SBMC representative, Kabiru Aliyu, disclosed plans to digitalise SBMC activities nationwide to enable schools report challenges in real time through a national dashboard for prompt intervention.

He said the initiative would strengthen monitoring and improve responses to security threats and other challenges affecting schools across the country. (Daily Trust)

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