The President – About 12 million students are scared of attending school
With
the rate of abduction of students in the northern part of the country,
President Buhari has said that about 12 million students are traumatized and
scared of going to school.
The president Disclosed this during the
opening of the safe school program in Abuja on Tuesday, October 26, 2021.
President Buhari was represented by his chief
of staff prof Ibrahim Gambari also noted that dealing with the security challenges
daily has not been easy.
Here is what he said -
“The incessant attacks on the country’s education system such as
kidnapping, abduction of pupils/students, increased activities of insurgence
and general insecurity in our schools have exacerbated many factors responsible
for the growing number of out-of-school children.
It is disheartening to note that even when the abducted students
are released, the trauma of the incidences remains long in their minds; hence
the plan to have teachers trained on psycho-social support.
There are more than 12 million children currently traumatized and
afraid of going to school, especially the girl child
I must tell you that it has been tough dealing with these security
challenges and their effect. Moving forward, our faith in the nation is
unshaken. We have been strong, determined, and robust to enhance the security
of learning institutions.
Permit me to share with you a report released by S.B Morgen which
revealed that a total of 1,462 learners and education personnel were abducted
between 1st December 2019and September 2021 in school-related abductions, as
well as home and community-related abductions of learners and teachers.
A total of
17 lives of teachers and learners have been lost in these abductions. On the
other hand, for learners currently in school, the fear and trauma created by
having their fellow students and friends attacked has impacted negatively on
the quality of schooling as concentration and attention span for learning in
such conditions have certainly waned.'' the President said
