Adamawa: Education Must Be Protected From All Forms Of Attacks In Nigeria, NGO’S Cries Out

Adamawa :Education must be protected from all forms of attacks in Nigeria.NGO’S cries out.

From Umar Dankano,Yola.

A group of Non governmental organizations under the aupieces ‘Education in Emergencies Working Group’ has urge governments and stakeholders to ensure attack on education are address firmly.

This position was arrived at this year’s (2024) commemoration of International Day to protect Education from attack in Yola Monday organized by the Ministry of Education in Conjunction with the group solely to advance workable solutions out of the challenge.

Delivering his keynote address, the Commissioner of Education in Adamawa State, Dr Umar Pella expressed concerns over the different types of attacks on the educational sector being it man-made or natural phenomenon.

Pella said that the states in the North East have been experiencing attacks from the outlawed Boko Haram insurgents who viewed western education as taboo or alienian to their idealogical believes.

Pella expressed dismay over the several infrastructural and physical attacks made on schools and displacement of students by these insurgency which has greatly affected the education sector badly

He however attributed that the obstruction by these attacks slowed education delivery and acceptance in the affected states noting that poor funding is another set back bedeviling the sector which urgent attention.

He said, “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 pay enough to develop education. People who are neglected educationally are the ones used for mayhem.”

Earlier in his remarks at the occasion held at the Banquet hall of Government House Yola the Focal Person of the Education in Emergencies Working Group, Stephen Medugu opined that all hands must be on deck to ensuring education is protected against any form of attack.

Medugu listed on the attacks on education to include; physical destruction of school infrastructure, Kidnapping of students in hostels.Using school lands for farming activities by teachers, encroachment on school lands and other natural disasters such as flooding.

While calling on stakeholders to rise up to the challenges, Medugu suggested for more support to education in area of technical and vocational skills empowerment programs to assist people to be self reliance.

He appreciated the efforts of  Adamawa State Government in improving the education delivery seeking for more attention as a priority.

Various speakers from the NGO’o group expressed their readiness to ensure that the challenge is addressed squarely so that more developments can be achieved.