NIGERIA. Niger State: In Niger State, north-central Nigeria, over 743,056 school pupils were pushed out of school as of January this year.
This is due to the state’s and the country’s ongoing security issues, which include banditry, kidnapping, and other forms of insecurity.
In Minna, the state capital, Dr. Isah Adamu, Chairman of the Niger State Universal Basic Education Board (NSUBEB), told journalists that the problem of out-of-school children, which has long been a problem in the country, has worsened as the number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the state has increased.
“The insecurity scenario has also made it more difficult for the board to recruit instructors in the impacted areas,” according to Adamu.
Adamu believes that the problem of out-of-school children would continue to increase in the country, particularly in areas and regions where insurgency is a major issue.
As a result, quality and standard education will be impossible to achieve, as insurgency has a bigger detrimental impact on out-of-school children in any country.
People cannot continue to risk their lives for education since great education can only be obtained when their lives and property are safe, according to Adamu.
“The number of out-of-school children in Niger state as of the last time we took count in January 2022 was 743,056,” Adamu said.
Adamu went on to say that there are now local government areas in the state with fewer than four classroom instructors, and that even when the administration wishes to recruit more teachers to the region, none of them are willing to stay due to fear of insecurity.
This has a significant negative impact on schoolchildren, particularly girls, because parents already have pre-existing ideas about not sending their female children to school. This is due to a fear of bandit attacks and a lack of faith in the Nigerian government’s ability to secure the schools.
To further protect the lives of survivors of insurgency victims, the government has put in place provisions for the development of a psychological clinic to provide proper counselling to the survivors.
In the state, there is a psychological clinic and a counselling clinic, one of which is funded by the state government and the other by a non-profit organisation.
“This is to further assure the citizens of their safety of lives after being traumatized as a result of attack by the insurgents,” Adamu said.
Locals will be mobilised to return to their ancestral homes, and the area’s security will be handled, according to Adamu.
“There are a series of destructions done to our schools, but that will not be an obstacle for the government from reopening the school for children to learn,” Adamu said.
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