The Civil Society Action Coalition on Education for All, CSACEFA has expressed displeasure at the closure of unity schools across the country.
The National Moderator of CSACEFA, Mr Sale Abdullahi said this in a statement made available to Voice of Nigeria, in Abuja.
Abdullahi said that Nigerian children had witnessed horrific moments in the heat of attacks on learning facilities across the country arising from the activities of bandits.
“The past weeks have witnessed waves of school closures across the country, both secondary and tertiary”
“Since the Chibok incident in 2014, where over 276 students were abducted in the North East region, the crisis has fast spread to the North West and North Central regions through countless other attacks on soft targets,” he added.
Abdullahi said that the bandits were demanding huge ransoms and in some cases killing the innocent victims who should be in the safe custody of their guardians or parents with the government making promises of securing their release albeit to no effect.
“According to United Nations Children Education Fund (UNICEF), as of today, over 11,536 schools are closed with over 1,500 pupils abducted. This is reprehensible and a brutal violation of the rights of the Nigerian child to education”.
He expressed worry that the learning crisis will affect the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) following a steady decline in enrollment and retention.
Abdullahi further urged the government to remember its social contract with Nigerian parents and students as the cardinal points of their campaign.
Dominica Nwabufo
