The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps’ National Safe School Response Coordination Centre announced that teachers and vigilantes from 821,000 elementary and secondary schools nationwide will get security training in an effort to better protect schools and students.
The NSSRCC, founded by the Federal Government, is charged with coordinating safety and security responses to violence in schools and host communities.
Personnel from the NSCDC and other security agencies have received specialist training and have been sent to various communities and schools for proper involvement, primarily focused on prevention and protection.
In an interview with our correspondent on Sunday, the Commander of the NSSRCC, Hammed Abodunrin, stated that various stakeholders, including teachers, private security guards, vigilantes, and local hunters, would be trained at the state level in February 2023 to help combat the country’s rising insecurity.
Abodunrin stated that the training would help the 821,000 schools examined for vulnerability assessment, and that at least one teacher from each school would be taught at the community level, who would then train others.
He said:
“This year, we are starting with train-the-trainers before the end of February. This would be done at the state level. Those to be trained include stakeholders, vigilantes, and local hunters, among others. Those trained will take the initiative and skills gathered to the communities.
“For schools, at least, a teacher per school would be selected at the community level and then, they will go back to their schools and domesticate the training.
“Already, the corps has surveyed 821,000 schools but it will be difficult to get to all the teachers in these schools except they are trained in phases.”
The commander added, “At the Safe School Centre, we will monitor these schools at the local level whether they are complying with what we told them to do. The issue of security is personal. The best security is provided by oneself.
“If the communities are protected, the schools will be protected.”
cc: Punch Ng
