Zamfara reopens 45 schools as insecurity ebbs

The state government directed the shutting of the schools in September 2021 following the abduction of Government Day Secondary School, Kaya, students.

News Agency of Nigeria • October 12, 2022

Zamfara State government has reopened 45 of the 75 schools it closed over insecurity, the Ministry of Education declared on Wednesday in Gusau.

The permanent secretary in the ministry, Kabiru Attahiru, disclosed this when he received members of the state’s technical team on Education in Emergencies (EiE) which paid an advocacy visit to the ministry.

“Today, I am happy to inform you that as a result of improvement of security in the state, we reopened 45 out of the 75 schools, while only 30 of the schools remained shut,” he said.

The state government directed the shutting of the schools in September 2021 following the abduction of Government Day Secondary School, Kaya, students in the Maradun Local Government Area of the state.

“While reopening the schools, we categorised them into three groups – Green, Yellow and Red,” the permanent secretary said.

“Green were schools located in areas without security threats, the Yellow group is for schools located in areas with little threat of insecurity, while the Red ones were schools in those areas with high-security risks.”

Mr Attahiru noted that all 75 schools fell into the red group at the time of their closure as it was dangerous to allow them to remain open.

He assured that the state government and security agencies were working towards improving the state’s security.

“We are hoping for more improvement in security in the state so that we can reopen the remaining 30 schools,” he said.

The permanent secretary commended the EiE team for the visit and assured them of the ministry’s commitment to continue to partner with all stakeholders to promote the education sector in the state.

Earlier, the team leader, Sa’adatu Abdu-Gusau, said that the visit was to advocate for the establishment of the Education in Emergencies Working Group (EiEWG) in the state.

Ms Abdu-Gusau, the director of Planning Research and Statistics in the ministry, said the advocacy visit was also part of activities to commemorate the International Day of the Girl Child.

In his remarks, the team’s deputy leader, Ahmad Hashim, said the EiE team was formed by the Development Research and Project Centre (DRPC).

(NAN)

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