Safe Schools: FG Plans Review Amid 11,000 Registrations
The Federal Government is set to review the progress of the Safe Schools project, with plans to hold a national summit involving all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
This was confirmed to Sunday PUNCH by Halima Iliya, the National Coordinator of Financing Safe Schools in Nigeria. Iliya revealed that the review will follow the completion of the South-West phase of the project, though she did not specify the exact date of the summit.
Meanwhile, Commander Rabiu Muhammad of the National Safe Schools Response and Coordination Centre disclosed that over 11,000 schools have been registered on the centre’s central monitoring platform. He clarified that the registration is solely for safety coordination and not for taxation or revenue purposes.
He noted the project’s original timeline was 2023–2027, aiming to secure all schools by 2026. However, challenges have emerged:
- One-third of schools in Nigeria are still not safe
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No budget allocation for 2024 and 2025, despite an initial N15bn in 2023
The Safe Schools Initiative, launched in 2014 after the Chibok abduction, was championed by UN Special Envoy Gordon Brown, in collaboration with Nigerian business leaders. It combines school-based interventions, community protection, and special security measures for high-risk areas.
Initial funding came from a $10 million Federal Government contribution, matched by a $10 million private sector pledge.
