TheCable

Uba Sani, governor of Kaduna, says the security challenges in the state have caused a decline in school enrolment.

Sani spoke on Wednesday during a capacity training programme organised by the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) school protection squad in Kaduna.

The governor said insecurity has increased the number of out-of-school children in many LGAs in the state, adding that achieving human capital development goals is impossible without safety in the learning environment.

He said the recent abduction of Kuriga schoolchildren and students has revealed the effect of insecurity on educational access.

“Kaduna is one of the states that has been waging a sustained battle against banditry, terrorism, kidnapping, and other forms of criminality,” Sani said.

“These non-state actors have disrupted socio-economic activities in the affected communities and are threatening our educational revitalisation programme.

“Kaduna State’s educational system is facing a crisis of declining enrolment, with over 200,000 fewer primary school pupils recorded in the 2022-2023 academic session compared to the previous year.

“This dramatic drop (from 2,111,969 in 2021/2022 to 1,734,704 in 2022/2023) is largely attributed to insecurity.

“In several LGAs, particularly Chikun, Birnin Gwari, Kajuru, Giwa, and Igabi, insecurity has forced school consolidation, further pushing up the number of out-of-school children.

“Incidents like the kidnapping of 135 students from the LEA Primary and Junior Secondary School in Kuriga, Chikun, tragically illustrate the devastating impact of insecurity on education access and safety.

“To ensure that the education of our children in conflict-prone and terrorist-infested areas is not interrupted, we have commenced the merging of 359 schools with those in safe locations.

“We are also implementing our safe school programme to strengthen security in our primary and secondary schools.

“We are collaborating with the Nigeria Police Force, which is currently training a school protection squad (SPS).”

The governor said he has made sufficient budgetary provisions for the proper implementation of the safe school programme in the state.

He added that Olukayode Egbetokun, inspector-general of police (IGP), has established the SPS to enhance security across learning institutions in Nigeria.