United Nations International Children’s  Emergency Fund Nigeria, UNICEF, has called on the government, partners, and the international community to take decisive action to ensure that all schools across all states have the needed resources and tools to fully implement the Minimum Standards for Safe Schools, focusing on the most vulnerable regions.

The South East Communication Officer of UNICEF, Ijeoma Onuoha-Ogwe, said this in remembrance of the Chibok girls, whose abduction has clocked 10 years, saying that it is a wake-up call to the severe risks Nigerian children face in their pursuit of education.

Ijeoma says in 2021, over one million children were afraid to return to school, and in 2020, around 11,500 schools were closed due to attacks.

Our Correspondent in Ebonyi State, Emmanuel Nnaji, further reports that Ijeoma urged the government to address critical gaps in safe school infrastructure, preparedness for natural disasters, and conflicts, strengthen law enforcement and security measures to protect educational institutions and communities and ensure the continuity of education and learning when schools are shut through multiple learning pathways such as radio, Television programs and digital platforms like the Nigeria Learning Passport.