Schools Re-opening: UN Urges Nigeria To Prioritise Safety Of Students

The United Nations has urged the Nigerian government to prioritise safety measures as plans to re-open schools heighten.

UN in a statement noted that there is an urgent need to restore confidence in school system in light of COVID-19, which affected 46 million primary and secondary learners across Nigeria due to pandemic-related school closures.

The UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator, Edward Kallon, stressed that as State Governments plan to re-open schools after prolonged closures, building a resilient education system to withstand future shocks should be included in pandemic response plans.

He noted that prioritising safety in schools for educators and learners is an indication of the Government’s commitment to protecting investments in the education sector and a validation of Nigeria’s endorsement of the Safe Schools Declaration.

The statement explained further that as the world marks the first-ever International day to protect education from attack, more than three million children in the conflict-affected states of Borno, Adamawa and Yobe in north-east Nigeria are in need of education-in-emergency support.

Kallon was quoted in the statement to have said, “Education is essential to helping crisis-affected communities in the North-East rebuild and recover. Attacks on schools are a direct attack on future generations.

“I call on all parties to the conflict to take all necessary measures to protect education and give learners a chance to build a brighter future,” Kallon said.

“The protracted conflict in the North-East has had devastating impacts on education.”

“From 2009 to December 2018, 611 teachers were killed and 910 schools damaged or destroyed. More than 1,500 schools were forced to close and some 4.2 million children in the North-East are at risk of missing out on an education”.

The United Nations noted that hundreds of girls have been abducted from schools which are meant to be safe zones, adding that the attacks on schools, communities and education itself are tragic consequences of a protracted conflict that has left a generation of children traumatized.

United Nations Secretary-General, António Guterres said that as the world fights to contain the COVID-19 pandemic, children and youth in conflict zones remain among the most vulnerable to its devastating impact adding that measures must be put in place to ensure safery in school environment.

“UN vehemently condemned any and all attacks on education including abductions of school children, school-related gender-based violence, herders-farmers clashes, and repurposing of schools for use as isolation centres, IDP camps, markets or for military purposes.

“Our collective future as well as the achievements of all development goals depend on it. Safeguarding the right to education for all contributes to the achievement of sustainable development and nurtures the international community’s decades-long gains towards peace, economic prosperity, and social inclusion worldwide,” he stated.