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By Ladi Jossy, Maiduguri
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has disclosed that ensuring adequate safe and secure of schools must be everyone’s responsibility including parents and other partners in the country.
The UNICEF’s Chief of Field Office, Phuong T. Nguyen, stated this in Maiduguri during a symposium on school safety in commemoration of the 10th anniversary of the abducting of 276 Chibok girls by Boko Haram insurgents, organised by UNICEF and supported by Unique Care and Support Foundation (CASFOD) and University of Maiduguri.
Nguyen represented by the UNICEF Education field officer in Maiduguri office, Dr Adamu Bulama, explained that schools must be a place of hope and opportunity, where students are safe to learn and develop skills and experiences they need to thrive.
“Ensuring security in our school is not just for government or UNICEF, INGOs or UN agencies, community members have to be fully informed that it is their responsibility to ensure schools are secured and also they should be provided with the skills that they need to response to an emergency whenever something happens in the schools,”she said
She stressed that UNICEF secured funds from donors and distribute among education partners to strengthen security at school levels to ensure that schools are safe for all.
“Education for all, it is a responsibility for all.
“The best way to ensure that our schools are safe and secure is to allow each and every partner to play its role, UNICEF as a UN agency is leading coordination among all the education partners, that’s why we have education sector coordinator based at UNICEF office and part of that key sector is to ensure that each and every member among the partners plays his role and try to avoid duplication in terms of program intervention, in addition to that UNICEF ensure that advocacy is carried out upward and downward.”She said.
She noted through positive parenting, children can feel safe, valued and heard when sharing their opinions and complicated emotions and they will grow up to be a happy and confident generation with fewer reservations about seeking mental health support.
She opined that UNICEF’s education programme aims to support the government in achieving SDG 4 by 2030 through improved planning and by addressing some of the systemic barriers that hinder the implementation of an effective education strategy.
The symposium, which was jointly organized by UNICEF, CASFOD, CATAI, UKAID, Education in Emergencies, and University of Maiduguri.
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