The Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, on Thursday attributed the insecurity in the country to the rising number of out-of-school children.
He said the government was working towards reducing the number of out-of-school children and the illiteracy level in the country.
He spoke in Abuja at the ministerial session of the 66th National Council on Education (NCE), with the theme ‘Strengthening of Security and Safety in Nigerian Schools for the Achievement of Education 2030 Agenda.
The minister said schools must be safe and secure at all cost.
He said: “I’d like to call on all states to rise up to their responsibilities and provide a safe and secure learning environment for both students and teachers.”
The Minister of State for Education, Goodluck Opiah said incessant attacks on schools, churches, mosques, roads, railway stations, villages and towns were destabilising the education system, eating deep into “the foundations of our existence and exposing the sector to traumatic experiences.”
He said this trauma could put the education system in comatose if nothing was urgently done.
UNICEF Chief Education Officer, Saadhna Panday-Soobrayan said the attacks on schools were having “devastating short and long-term consequences on the wellbeing of children and communities.”
