In its quest to deliver on security of lives and properties as well as the safety of citizens, Katsina State Government has inaugurated a steering committee to check attacks on public schools by terrorists and other armed gangs making life miserable in the state.
Katsina is one the terror prone areas in the North West Nigeria and has recorded serious casualty of terror attacks that left many dead, several others displaced and loss of properties of hundreds of millions of naira, while the people in the state remain traumatised.
The terror attacks cut across all strata, the old, the young, little children, women, the rich and the poor, in the rural areas and in the cities.
Recall that in December 2020, more than 300 students of Government Science Secondary School (GSSS), Kankara, in Local Council, were abducted, seven pupils and a teacher were abducted in Faskari Local Council in August 2021.
The development led to the closure of many schools, especially those within councils having security challenges.
The committee named as the State Safe School Steering Committee (SSSSC), is to coordinate the domestication of Federal Government’s National Safe School Policy (NSSP).
It is expected to develop a plan for implementation of safe school minimum standards, coordinate stakeholders involved in the implementation of safe school activities, prepare state budget for safe school and advocate funding provision in the state’s budget, among other responsibilities.
The committee, comprising representatives of various agencies in the education sector and security agencies, was inaugurated, yesterday, by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education, Mrs. Halimatu Idris, is in collaboration with United Nations Children’s (UNICEF).
Consultant in charge of members’ responsibilities, Dr. Bulus Myfriend, said setting up the committee became pertinent in view of security challenges facing many schools in the state and beyond. He said: “Most of our schools have been bedevilled by attacks by criminal elements and some others that just have no reason to attack our education. So, the government is working round-the-clock putting in place measures for us to take ownership and go back to our traditional way of doing things.
“The steering committee should be able to put heads together and assist the teachers and learners by providing the enabling environment. This environment could be any form of assistance, so that our children will feel relaxed to go back to school to learn in a free and safe environment.”
