By Abu Nmodu, Minna
Niger State commissioner for education, Hajiya Hannatu Jibrin Salihu, yesterday directed all public secondary schools in the state to be shut down for two weeks.
The announcement was contained in a statement which explained that the closure of the Schools will take effect from today to Friday 26th March, 2021.
However, the state wing of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) has faulted the decision, saying the move is not the solution to the security challenges facing the state even as expert proffered solutions.
The Commissioner in the statement explained that the decision was reached after an emergency meeting with leadership of National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools (NAPSS), Association of Model Islamic Schools (AMIS), Chairman NSUBEB, Heads of Agencies under the Ministry, Directors of the Ministry and other stakeholders.
“The decisions is as a result of an interface with security chiefs in the state where they expressed concerns that at the moment Secondary Schools in the state are not safe.”
She further stated that so far 22 Secondary Schools have been shut down earlier, made up of 11 day Schools and 11 Boarding Schools as an aftermath of the recent abduction of Students at Kagara.
But on its part, the NUT lamented the closure, while speaking to FRIDAY LEADERSHIP, Secretary NUT Niger state, Comrade Labaran Garba said the union is lamenting the decision because “it will distort the academic activities and render both the students and Teachers idle”.
The Secretary General Institute of Professional Security Experts, Abdullahi Jabi told LEADERSHIP Friday that everybody must be concerned about the situation especially as it regards schools and children at their formative age.
Another security expert and a retired security officer Mohammed Musa said the best solution is to secure the environment of the schools and have adequate intelligence coverage of the school,…
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