The spate of school abductions in recent times have pushed to the front burner the need to take a closer look at the Safe School Initiative. The abductions, which precipated the closure of federal government-owned post-primary institutions, otherwise called unity schools, came at a time terrorists upped their game and extended their heinous activities to hitherto safe states in tbe country.
Taking a cue from the Federal Government, a few states have closed shop, with at least, one state, closing down its tertiary institutions as well. As part of remedial measures to stem the tide, the Federal Government declared a nationwide emergency on security. In a country, especially in the North, where education is not in its right frame, this is a moment of sober reflection and urgent introspection.
A little over a decade ago, precisely in 2014, the world watched in horror as nearly 300 girls were abducted from a postprimary institution in Chibok, Borno State. The incident was not only a national tragedy but a turning point in the conversation about educational safety in Nigeria. Many of the Chibok girls are still in captivity. Since Chibok, hundreds of students have been abducted, dozens of schools have been closed, and entire local governments, especially in the North, have witnessed the suspension of educational activities.
In response, government leaders, international partners, and civil society launched the Safe School Initiative (SSI), a policy framework meant to protect learning environments from violent attacks and create safer futures for Nigerian children.
One decade on, the raging debate remains whether or not the Safe School Initiative has delivered on its promise. The answer may be complicated; what is not complicated is that while the policy contains several well-conceived mechanisms, among them, improving physical school security, relocating high-risk students, and enhancing emergency response capacities, its implementation has been haphazard, uneven and largely underfunded. If Nigeria truly desires to guarantee every child the right to learn without fear, it is time to revive and restructure the Safe School Initiative and make it less opaque and accountable.
Of course, the education sector in Nigeria faces multi-layered and seemingly insurmountable crises, due largely, to decades of poor funding that have resulted in decayed infrastructure, overcrowded classrooms, inadequate skill-updating programme for teachers, high rate of school dropout and indefensible low motivation for teachers. Added to this are the security challenges that have intensified in recent years, chiefly among them, Boko Haram and ISWAP in the Northeast; banditry and mass kidnappings across the Northwest and North-Central, farmer–herder clashes in the Middle Belt; and secessionist agitations in the Southeast. In the midst of the gamut, school children and their teachers have become soft targets for bloodletting armed groups seeking ransom, propaganda, or hazy political leverage. The ambitious Safe School Initiative was designed precisely to respond to these realities.
At the heart of the Safe School Initiative was “school fortification” which demanded the installation of perimeter fencing, lighting, watchtowers, alarm systems, and trained security personnel in schools. In theory, these measures could serve as deterrents and improve early warning, but in practice, many schools in vulnerable areas, and indeed in urban areas, remain unfenced, unlit, and unguarded. Teachers and old security guards often serve as the first and only line of defense, despite having no security training.
Another key pillar of the Safe School Initiative was community engagement, a welcome acknowledgment that no amount of physical fortification can replace community vigilance. In this regard, parents, traditional rulers, youth groups, religious institutions, local vigilantes and vulnerable teachers and students were expected to play roles in surveillance and reporting threats. Though there has been a semblance of success, particularly in areas where traditional leaders are influential, these efforts are practiced in the breach, largely because many communities lack the trust, resources, or coordination to sustain such roles. In many cases, communities have been sacked by bandits for cooperating with security agencies.
The relocation of high-risk students to safer locations was another ambitious element of the Safe School Initiative. This measure, which was pioneered by the Borno State government, helped some displaced children continue their education, but it was never scalable. The policy also carried unintended consequences whereby some communities viewed relocation as abandonment. Experts have consistently argued that relocation, by itself is not a substitute for effectively making schools safe and secure.
Perhaps the most significant challenge to the Safe School Initiative is poor funding. The initiative, which was launched with fanfare and considerable donor support, is largely comatose because effective follow-through has largely been uneven. Budgets for school safety are often small, delayed, or diverted to competing priorities while state governments, who bear the brunt of responsibility for basic education, vary widely in their willingness and capacity to allocate money for school safety and students’ protection. There is no gainsaying the fact that, without sustainable funding, even the smartest policy will continue to gather dust on shelves.
At this stage, Nigeria does not need another symbolic policy; what is of essence is a renewed commitment to school safety and student protection that treat education as a veritable and strategic investment in national growth, peace and stability. A secure and functioning school system is a foundation for economic growth, social cohesion, and democratic continuity. To that extent, an attack on one school equates an attack on the future of the nation.
As a matter of urgency, certain critical actions need to be taken to breathe new life to reposition the Safe School Initiative. First, transparency and accountability must be non-negotiable. In this regard, a publicly accessible and regularly updated national school-safety programme would allow parents, journalists, and civil society to monitor progress, with the added advantage of reducing instances of inflated contracts incomplete and abandoned projects, and allied malfeasances which have eroded public trust over the years.
Second, security planning and implementation must be domesticated. This is essential because local ownership is necessary to sustain policies. Since Nigeria’s threats are diverse, and a one-size-fits-all approach will not fly, states and local government councils require a risk assessment that identifies and tracks specific threats, vulnerabilities, and community assets under their jurisdiction. Solutions, be they vasic and advanced surveillance systems, partnerships with vigilante networks, safe transportation routes, or early-warning communication systems, should then be tailored accordingly.
Third, it is important to integrate mental health and allied support into school safety. Beyond being physically protected environments, schools, especially, in vulnerable areas, should also become healing environments. Quite too often, the the national discourse has focused mainly on perimeter fencing, early-warning mechanisms and armed security guards. But the truth is that teaching and learning is impossible in an environment filled with traumatized students and teachers. There is no doubting the fact that students who have survived or witnessed attacks need counseling, safe spaces, and adequate reintegration support, and their teachers too can do with basic training in trauma-informed education.
Encouraging and commendable as they are, recent steps mooted by the federal government, among them, updating the National Policy on Safety, Security and Violence-Free Schools and establishing school protection committees, will remain a pipedream without commensurate political will. Policies, as is well known in development studies, only matter when they translate into real-world situations. Going forward, the Safe School Initiative must not become another political slogan; rather, it must be a lived reality that requires the necessary political will, consistent funding, community partnership, and a national understanding that school security cannot be divorced from national security.
Beyond being a good policy, it is time to consider the revival and strengthening of the Safe School Initiative, not only as a moral imperative but as a huge investment in the nation’s long-term peace, security and, ultimately, its prosperity.
Magaji <magaji778@gmail.com > writes from Abuja
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