Day of African Child: Govt. Must Change Tactics in Securing School Children – University Don

BY WILLIAM ATTAH, GOMBE – Federal and State Governments in the country have been tasked to change tactics in securing school children who have become high targets by armed bandits and kidnappers.

A lecturer with the Gombe State University, Dr. Umar Adamu, who decried the consistency in which the attacks have been taking place without any solution, said the situation has become so alarming and posing a serious threat to the development of the country in general.

Adamu, who stated this in a paper he presented with the title; “Education, Development and Security” at the commemoration of the ‘Day of the African Child’ organized by Save the Children International, held in Gombe,noted that the rate of kidnapping of children is so alarming to the extent that parents are afraid of sending their children to schools while the children on the other hand are scared of going to schools for fear of being kidnapped or eventually killed.

In his words; “The situation is getting out of hand and that is why we are always calling on Government to change their style in the area of providing security in the school environment”.

He particularly called on the Gombe State Government to take proactive measures saying, “security measures must be tightened considering what is happening with our neighbours”.

He said Nigeria can only be assured of the future of its children if the learning environment is secured for children, adding that; “Government must also deploy all the necessary and relevant facilities and materials in schools.

“In the past, the schooling system was very conducive, but now, because of the increase in population, government is not doing much to expand by building more schools, classrooms, providing learning materials and also recruiting more qualified teachers and improve on their welfare.

“The teaching profession needs to be attractive, but if you look at the way teachers are being treated by Government now, it has discouraged people from joining the teaching profession because of the negligence,” he stressed.

The Advocacy Coordinator of Save the Children in Gombe, Mr. Akpan Effiong, said the day of the African child is being celebrated with a call for serious reflections and commitment towards addressing the numerous challenges facing children across African.

According to him, the celebration should be a build up to the realization of the rights of children from the family, community level and up to national and international levels.

He said, Agenda 2040 provides a child centred focus based on the African Union’s Agenda 2063 which highlights children’s rights and welfare concerns in paragraph 53.

The celebration witnessed participation of children from several schools across the State with key advocacy messages centred on promotion, protection and provision of the rights of children; protection of children from violence, exploitation, neglect and abuse; domestication of Child right law as well as the rights of the girl child to access quality basic education in a safe environment up to Senior Secondary level.