By Ben Adoga, Abuja
Secretary for Education in the Federal Capital Territory, Malam Sani Dahir El- Katuzu has lamented the threat posed by insecurity to schools even when any student is yet to fall, victim,
He said though no child has been kidnapped in any FCT school, both public and private, insecurity has been identified as a major challenge in FCT schools.
El- Katuzu raised the alarm during this year’s media luncheon in Abuja on Wednesday noting that general insecurity remains a major challenge to FCT schools among others.
He stressed that the general insecurity in Northern Nigeria was taking a toll on schools in the FCT as authorities have been working round the clock to avert any incident in the nation’s capital.
He observed that some boarding facilities in the FCT lack comprehensive perimeter fences while those with perimeter fences can hardly deter bandit activities.
Recall that recently school children were kidnapped in neighboring Niger state, while in Kaduna state, abduction of school children is a major source of concern
Since the Boko Haram insurgency had peaked in the kidnapping of school children for ransom, many schools in Nigeria, especially Northern Nigeria have faced severe apprehension across the country.
Another challenge, the secretary explained is the continuous influx of people into FCT without a corresponding increase in the facilities available in the schools.
He frowned at the massive encroachment on school lands by private developers and inadequate teaching and technical staff.
El- Katuzu said there is a need to focus attention on the challenge to find an early solution to the threat.
He said public school sites were captured in the Abuja Master Plan adding that the city was designed for six million residents but due to the massive influx of residents from other states, the need to establish more public schools has become imperative.
He said the difficulty in acquiring lands for establishing new schools is a major concern.
Some of the locations that schools would have been established are occupied by illegal developers while new settlements require school facilities but yet are yet to be captured in the Abuja Master Plan.
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Inspite of these challenges, he said FCT Schools are blazing the trail in the education sector.
Among the accolades received, he disclosed that FCT schools clinched the first position at the President’s Teachers Award as best school administration in Nigeria, won by one Mr. Nuhu Musa Zuru, Principal of Government Secondary School, Kubwa.
Another school teacher emerged as the second runner-up in the 2021 National Maltina Teacher of the Year Competition 2021; three schools received awards during the maiden edition of the FCTA staff recognition award, 2020, and other awards.
The Secretary explained that part of the plans for 2022 is to prioritize teachers’ work conditions, establish a polytechnic and transform the FCT College of Education, Zuba to the University of Education among others.
