Minister of State for Education, Federal Ministry of Education, Abuja, Rt Hon Goodluck Nanah Opiah has stressed the need to ensure safety of all in schools across the country.
The minister made this known during the 66th National Council on Education Meeting in Abuja.
Opiah in his welcome address at the opening ceremony of the Ministerial Session explained that developments in the society call for precautionary measures by educational institutions to ensure safety of all.
According to him, the theme of the National Council on Education, NCE, for this year’s event “Strengthening of Security and Safety in Nigerian Schools for the Achievement of Education 2030 Agenda” is timely, considering the challenges and incessant attacks on schools, churches, mosques, roads, railway stations and different villages and towns that have become increasingly frequent in news headlines.
“These attacks such as kidnapping, banditry, ritual killings among others in both public and private sectors are confronting us, thereby destabilizing our educational system and obviously eating deep into the foundations of our existence and exposing the sector to traumatic experiences.
“This trauma, can put our education system in a state of comatose, if nothing is urgently done to combat the menace. The situation has created the need to double our efforts in coming up with effective strategies to strengthen security and safety to ensure sustainable access, quality and affordable education even in the face of threatening challenges that are responsible for the increasing percentage of school drop outs”
Still on the need for security enhancement, the Minister opined that “it is necessary that all stakeholders collaborate and cooperate with the government to the state of insecurity in Nigeria. There is also the need to proffer practical solutions to the menace of insecurity that has bedeviled our institutions. Therefore, both kinetic and non kinetic means should be employed to salvage our educational system”
According to the minister, these strategies should be emphasized in both national and state education sector strategic plan.
On the importance of the NCE, Rt Hon Opiah says the function of the body is to serve as the body that harmonizes all educational policies across the federation and the highest policy making body in the education sector. “This meeting, therefore” the minister added “holds a lot of prospects for the future of education in the country
“Undoubtedly, education is an investment, for any country to make an appreciable development and compete globally; we must invest adequately to secure the sector. I am confident that you will approach all issues with great commitment and constructive analytical minds and would certainly come out with a blueprint that would rescue and reposition our education sector”
The minister solicited for full cooperation from delegates involved in the NEC meeting and whished the gathering a fruitful deliberations.
