The Federal Government on Friday unveiled plans to strengthen the implementation of the Safe Schools Initiative, including deeper collaboration with security agencies to protect teachers, pupils and school facilities across the country’s 774 local government areas.
The move comes amid renewed concerns over recurring attacks on schools, kidnappings of students and teachers, and growing calls for improved security infrastructure in educational institutions.
Speaking after an interface with the Senate Ad-hoc Committee on the Safe Schools Initiative, the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, said the Federal Ministry of Education was working with key security agencies to develop a comprehensive national framework for school safety.
He also sought the transfer of the management of funds for the initiative from the Ministry of Finance to the Ministry of Education, arguing that the education ministry is better positioned to coordinate implementation of the programme
Alausa said the ministry had already established a dedicated Safe Schools Department to drive the initiative and ensure better coordination.
“We are collaborating closely with the Office of the National Security Adviser, the Department of State Services, the Armed Forces, the Nigeria Police and other security agencies to develop a comprehensive Safe Schools framework. School safety cannot be handled in a fragmented manner.
“Safe Schools is much broader than physical security. It includes perimeter fencing, solar-powered lighting, water and sanitation facilities, recruitment of school security personnel, deployment of technology and the establishment of effective monitoring systems,” he said.
The minister stressed the need for a central coordination mechanism to ensure effective implementation of the programme nationwide.
“There are many components of the Safe Schools Initiative, and they require a central command-and-control structure. While the security agencies will continue to perform their constitutional duties, the Federal Ministry of Education will provide policy direction, coordinate implementation with states and ensure that every school benefits from the programme,” he added.
Earlier, during his presentation before the committee chaired by Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, Alausa disclosed that since assuming office, the only major disbursements under the initiative had been targeted interventions to the Nigeria Police Force and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps through the Federal Ministry of Finance.
He said the establishment of a full-fledged Safe Schools Department underscored the ministry’s readiness to take direct responsibility for managing the intervention funds.
“Since I assumed office, the only significant disbursements have been targeted interventions to security agencies, including the Nigeria Police Force and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps. Those payments were administered through the Federal Ministry of Finance.
“We have now established a full-fledged Safe Schools Department within the Federal Ministry of Education. Previously, there was only a small unit, but we felt that was inadequate considering the importance of school safety which make us to seek for domiciling management of the fund in the Education Ministry,” he said.
Responding in a separate interview, the Minister of Finance, Mr Taiwo Oyedele, downplayed concerns over which ministry should control the funds, saying the issue would be resolved by the government.
According to him, the overriding priority is ensuring that schools are adequately protected and that funds are released promptly to prevent security breaches.
“For us it’s not so much of who is controlling the budget, that’s not even very important and the government policies has, for example, if you have service-wide votes or you have interventions, by law it’s the ministry of finance that will manage it because minister of finance acts as the accountant for the country. Under that we also have the office of the accountant general. So, between us we’ll sort out those issues.
“What is even the priority for us is how do we ensure that the funding is adequate and the monies are released on time so that some of these crimes can be prevented rather than us trying to do damage control,” he said.
The Senate ad hoc committee has been engaging relevant ministries and agencies as part of its ongoing review of the Safe Schools Initiative, with a view to strengthening the programme and improving security across schools nationwide.
By: Adebayo Folorunsho-Francis
