The Ministry of Education has called on stakeholders and school administrators to be security consciousness and ensure the safety of their pupils and students.
The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education, Mr Sonny Echono, made the call in Abuja on Wednesday at a One-Day Enlightenment Meeting on Education in Emergency Preparedness and Response for Civic Education Teachers in Federal Government Colleges.
Echono stressed the need to prepare staff and students for the unexpected in any case of emergencies.
He added that preparing for the unexpected in the case of emergencies required planning ahead as well as creating awareness through the enlightenment programme.
He said that the growing rate of insecurity in the country was heightened by the overwhelming students population in the colleges and complicated by the absence of wells constructed perimeter fencing.
The Permanent Secretary said it was therefore imperative to education staff and students of the Federal Government Colleges on the need to take precautions in the case of emergencies.
” Over the years and up till now, Nigeria has witnessed myriad of emergencies as a nation and in some cases sectorally.
” Intermittent disasters have taken toll on our colleges. Some of the emergency situations include over flooding, fire disasters, virus epidemics, breakdown of law and order.”
Echono said the recent virus epidemics at the Queens’ College, Lagos, that claimed the lives of three students, was as a result of inadequate management of the situation by the authority.
Earlier, Mrs Justin’s Ibe, Director, Education Support Services in the ministry, said the inadequate security measures in schools had increased vulnerability to emergencies.
Ibe, however, said the workshop was apt as it would afford stakeholders the opportunity to take conscious steps to prevent disasters from happening and ensure the safety of students. (NAN)