Lagos Orders School Inspections as Schools Return from Break, Is This Real Child Safety or Just Facility Checks?
The Lagos State Government has ordered immediate inspection and compliance checks across all public and private schools following the resumption of the third academic term.
The directive, issued by the Commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education, Jamiu Alli-Balogun, comes after schools across the state resumed academic activities on May 4, 2026, in line with the approved academic calendar. The monitoring exercise is focused on ensuring continued compliance with safety standards, environmental sanitation, proper attendance, and overall school management.
According to the ministry, inspection teams have been deployed across the state to assess school environments, learning facilities, and the punctual resumption and attendance of both students and staff. School administrators have also been directed to maintain strict adherence to academic schedules and ensure uninterrupted teaching and learning activities.
The Permanent Secretary, Abisola Dokunmu-Adegbite, reaffirmed the government’s commitment to maintaining standards across the education sector, stressing that compliance with safety and sanitation protocols remains a key priority even after resumption.
From a child protection and safeguarding perspective, the post-resumption inspections reflect an ongoing effort to ensure that schools remain safe, structured, and suitable for learning. Regular monitoring helps identify risks such as poor sanitation, unsafe environments, and gaps in supervision that could affect children’s wellbeing during the school term.
Ensuring proper school functioning during resumption also strengthens safeguarding by reducing disruptions that may expose children to unsafe or unregulated settings. The emphasis on continued compliance highlights that child safety is not a one-time check, but a sustained responsibility throughout the academic term.
However, safeguarding experts often stress that inspections should go beyond physical conditions to include child protection policies, staff behaviour standards, and reporting systems. A genuinely safe school environment depends on both infrastructure and strong protective mechanisms.
The directive reinforces the importance of ongoing government oversight in maintaining safe learning spaces and ensuring that schools remain not only operational but also protective of children’s wellbeing throughout the term.
There is still one question that needs to be answered: Do you think these inspections will check real child safeguarding policies in schools, or are they just a tour of school buildings?
