65 Northern Schools Shut as HURIWA Warns Insecurity Is Derailing Children’s Education
Sexty-five (65) schools have been reported to be closed or made non-functional in the North of Nigeria due to insecurity, with concerns that the extended closure will affect children’s learning and development.
The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) stated that the closures were depriving thousands of children of regular access to education and exposing them to various risks including child labour, child marriage, trafficking and recruitment by criminal and extremist groups.
The organisation pointed out that schools in 20 of the 23 local government areas in Sokoto State have been closed indefinitely due to security threats.
HURIWA raised doubt on the management of funds for the Safe Schools Initiative, set up following the abduction of school girls in Chibok, Borno State in 2014. It referred to the Federal Government’s National Plan on Financing Safe Schools for 2023-2026, which allocated N144.86 billion to the programme in the plan.
The group questioned whether the resources allocated to school safety are being delivered to the children and communities they were designed to serve, given the ongoing school closures.
It urged the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission to carry out a forensic investigation of the programme’s finances and implementation.
Prolonged school closures can have a negative impact on a child’s development, as they can disrupt learning, hinder children’s social development and raise the risk of permanent educational exclusion.
HURIWA called on the authorities to put measures in place to ensure the safe reopening of schools, including better security, safe transport, emergency learning centres, teacher protection and independent monitoring.
It also urged the recovered funds to be channeled into the reconstruction and rehabilitation of damaged schools, emphasizing the need for children to have safe schools in which to learn, grow and plan for their future.
