Muhammad Garba
Irked by spate of school attacks and student’s abduction in some part of the nation, Jigawa state Public Dialogue has advocated for strengthen community policing to checkmate the problem and ensure school is safe for educational development.
The suggestions were made as part of the resolution of a one-day public policy dialogue on Education and Contemporary Challenges in Nigeria.
The public dialogue was organized by the civil society organizations with support from PERL-ECP held at manpower development institute Dutse.
During the occasion which was attended by different civil society organizations, community-based organizations, trade Unions, Media, academia and other stakeholders on education, about five different papers were presented on the subject matter and the participants give number of observations and suggestion on way forward.
The occasion acknowledged the relative peace and security in the state, but considering the incidences of school’s attacks and student’s abduction in neighboring states, they called on government and general public to strengthen county policing to ensure security and safety around schools in the state.
The meeting has observed the challenges of girls’ child education, traditional Almajiri system, shortage of teachers and other challenges militating the state education sector.
However, the meeting called on the state government to engage civil societies, religious and traditional rulers in planning and implementation of education policy for sustainable improvement and development of the state sector.
The dialogue suggested for improvement of security mechanisms around the schools particularly the construction of fences and provision of young armed security guards in the schools.
Other resolution includes checkmating the menace of drug abuse, negative impact of smartphone to the students and also the need to promote cultural and moral discipline in the schools.
The meeting also suggested for more and regular public discussion on education challenges and performance in the state for effective and timely intervention.
