By Sani Idris
An NGO, Stand with a Girl Initiative (SWAG), has solicited for the
committment and full implementation of
National Policy on Safety, Security, and Violence-Free Schools (NPSSVFS) by the Kaduna State Ministry of Education.
The SWAG team, who paid an advocacy visit to the Kaduna State Ministry of Education, led by Seye Bolaji, said the visit was to ensure implementation of the NPSSVFS (with its Implementing Guidelines) in Kaduna State by December 2023 through girl-led advocacy and media engagement.
She added that they also needed increased political commitment of Kaduna State Ministry of Education towards implementation the NPSSVFS by December 2023.
Bolaji mentioned the benefit of safe schools to include increase in enrolment and retention of girls in school and reduction of threats of domestic violence.
She noted that in safe schools, girls are more likely to escape early pregnancy and marriage and provide them with the opportunities to fulfill their highest potential and become self-reliant.
Speaking further, Bolaji noted some of their key achievements to include training of 110 Internally Displaced Women on business management skills and provided them with N20, 000 business grants each at the Wassa IDP Camp in 2020/2022
“We also sensitized over 2000 community members at the Wassa IDP camp in Abuja to access and utilize quality sexual and reproductive health and rights information and services in 2020/2022,”she said.
Responding, the Permanent Secretary of the State’s Ministry of Education, Dr Halliru Soba, acknowledged and appreciated the commendable work done by SWAG in the state.
He noted that implementation of the NPSSVFS policy is one of the ministry’s top priorities.
“The ministry had already implemented certain aspects of the policy and had allocated a budget for its ongoing implementation,” he said.
Soba informed the SWAG team that he had previously met with other Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) working on similar issues.
He therefore encouraged them to collaborate and partner with those organizations to avoid duplication of efforts and enhance the effectiveness of their initiatives.
Speaking further, the Permanent Secretary requested the SWAG team to present their commitment and contributions towards the domestication and implementation of the policy.
Recognizing the resource-intensive nature of the endeavor, he emphasized the importance of pooling resources to achieve the desired impact.
He assured the SWAG on the ministry’s commitment to the domestication and full execution of the policy.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), reports that the meeting between SWAG and the Kaduna State Ministry of Education proved fruitful, as the ministry expressed its firm commitment to prioritizing and executing the NPSSVFS policy.
NAN also reports that the SWAG team presented the achievements of their project, which included conducting needs assessment, briefing on the policy, engaging of school and community leaders through trained girls advocating for safe schools and training girl advocates.
The SWAG team is therefore poised to continue on its efforts in creating safer and violence-free learning environments for girls and all students across the state, NAN reports.
