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Education

UN to Nigeria: Prioritise safety as schools reopen

The United Nations in Nigeria on Wednesday said safeguarding education from attack is urgently needed to restore confidence in schools as places of protection for children and teachers.

“This is particularly pressing 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, Mr Edward Kallon, said.

“As State Governments plan to reopen schools after prolonged closures, building a resilient education system to withstand future shocks should be included in pandemic response plans,” he added

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.

While the world marks the first-ever International Day to Protect Education from Attack under the theme “Protect Education, Save a Generation” 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.  

“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,” Mr Kallon said.

The protracted conflict in the north-east has had devastating impacts on education. From 2009 until 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. Hundreds of girls have been abducted, some even from their own schools, which are meant to be safe zones.

The attacks on schools, communities and education itself are tragic consequences of a protracted conflict that has left a generation of children traumatized.

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