The federal government has reaffirmed its determination to provide a safe and secure environment where every Nigerian child can learn without fear of attack or disruption.
The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Education, Abel Enitan, gave the assurance on Tuesday during the commemoration of the International Day to Protect Education from Attack (IDEA), themed “Challenging Narratives, Reshaping Actions.”
Represented by the Director of Human Resource Management, Yusuf Saheed, Enitan dismissed the notion that insecurity in schools was inevitable, insisting that every child deserved the right to learn in peace.
“We are changing the way we implement the Safe Schools Programme, moving beyond rhetoric to real, coordinated action,” he said.
He said through the Safe Schools Declaration, the ministry was collaborating with state governments, security agencies, and development partners to train teachers, strengthen reporting systems, and build resilience across learning environments.
Acknowledging challenges in some regions, he commended learners who continued their studies despite adversity. “Protecting education is not the work of government alone.
It requires the active involvement of communities, parents, teachers, and partners. Together, we must dismantle old narratives of fear and replace them with new realities of safety, resilience, and hope,” he added.
The Director of School Safety, Hussaini Abdullahi, said the government was shifting from reactive measures to proactive strategies to ensure secure learning environments, urging stakeholders to collaborate in preventing disruptions to education.
UNICEF’s Chief of Education, Vanessa Lee, highlighted the importance of teachers, infrastructure, and School-Based Management Committees in building safe and nurturing schools.
“All of you play a very important role in advocating for finance and for policies that will keep children safe in schools, so that they can learn,” she said.
Similarly, Dr. Gboyega Ilusanya, National Team Lead for the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), Partnership for Learning for All in Nigeria (PLANE), reiterated support for Nigeria’s efforts to strengthen school safety.
Represented by Amy Oyekunle, National Safeguarding Advisor, he said: “On this International Day to Protect Education from Attack, we stand in solidarity with the children, teachers, parents, and communities across Nigeria who continue to bear the heavy burden of insecurity in our schools. Education is not a privilege but a right-the key to freedom, opportunity, and national progress.”