Adamawa: Education Must Be Protected from All Forms of Attacks in Nigeria, NGOs Cry Out
From Umar Dankano, Yola
A coalition of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) under the auspices of the ‘Education in Emergencies Working Group’ has urged the government and relevant stakeholders to take decisive action against attacks on education in Nigeria.
This call was made during the 2024 commemoration of the International Day to Protect Education from Attack, held in Yola on Monday. The event, organized by the Ministry of Education in collaboration with the group, aimed to develop practical solutions to the challenges facing education.
In his keynote address, the Adamawa State Commissioner of Education, Dr. Umar Pella, expressed concern over the various forms of attacks on the education sector, whether caused by human actions or natural phenomena.
Dr. Pella highlighted that states in the North East have been particularly affected by attacks from the outlawed Boko Haram insurgents, who view Western education as alien to their ideological beliefs. He lamented the numerous infrastructural and physical attacks on schools and the displacement of students, which have severely impacted the education sector.
He further noted that these attacks have not only disrupted education delivery but have also hindered its acceptance in the affected states. Dr. Pella pointed out that poor funding is another significant challenge plaguing the sector, requiring urgent attention.
“Long before insurgency, education had been under attack. When you deny education to a child, you attack education. As a country, we pay so much to try to curb insecurity because we didn’t invest enough in developing education. People who are neglected educationally are the ones used for mayhem,” Dr. Pella stated.
Earlier, during the event at the Banquet Hall of Government House, Yola, the Focal Person of the Education in Emergencies Working Group, Stephen Medugu, emphasized the need for collective efforts to protect education from any form of attack.
Medugu identified various forms of attacks on education, including the physical destruction of school infrastructure, the kidnapping of students from hostels, the misuse of school land for farming by teachers, encroachment on school properties, and natural disasters such as flooding.
He called on stakeholders to address these challenges and suggested increased support for education through technical and vocational skills empowerment programs to promote self-reliance.
Medugu also commended the Adamawa State Government for its efforts in improving education delivery and urged for continued prioritization of the sector.
Various speakers from the NGO group expressed their commitment to addressing the challenges facing education to achieve further development.
