By Chioma Nnodim
Federal Capital Territory Administration, FCTA, has reassured parents and guardians of the safety of their wards, as pupils and students in Abuja, the nation’s capital resumed back to school on Monday for commencement of first term academic activities for 2022/2023 academic session.
The Mandate Secretary for Education Secretariat of the FCT, Dahir Sani El-Katazu, made this known to Journalists in Abuja, on Monday while tour of the schools to access compliance of pupils and students to the resumption.
He assured that the FCTA will to double the number of security men that are supposed to be in the schools and also double their pay from seventeen thousand to thirty thousand Naira.
“There are some little challenges but I believe it because it’s the day of resumption, I believe all is well.
“For a very long time now the Minister of the FCT Malam Muhammed Bello had made sure that security arrangements are adequately put in place, not only in schools but the whole FCT generally.
“We are likely to have additional security majors taken in our schools, where we have to double the number of security men that are supposed to be in the schools and also double their pay from fifteen thousand to thirty thousand Naira.
“The security situation in our schools is much better, in fact, our pupils and students are very safe to come back to school. I urge all parents and guardians to allow their kids to come back to school, and also give the school management all the cooperation required in order to educate their kids,” he said.
The Universal Basic Education Board, Suleman Alhassan aslo told Journalists that “To be candid, we want to invite the Principals, head teachers and even the Parents Teachers Association, PTA, that they should be eagle eyed around the community especially schools that are in the rural areas, and advised them that footpaths across school environments should be avoided completely, we also encourage them to have contacts of police men, security agencies in case any suspicious movement.
“Education at the basic level is free and compusory and our department of social mobilization has gone wide to inform parents that education is a right and not a privilege, consequently we want every parent to ensure that every that every child is allowed to come to school, because it is only through education that children’s future can be guaranteed.
Reacting to the level of compliance of the resumption, the acting Director, FCA Quality Control Assurance, Mrs. Magdalene Uzoanya said; “The resumption is actually impressive, like the Secretary for Education mentioned earlier on, we have above eighty percent resumption in most of the schools we entered, it is only one public primary school, of which it’s understandable, the children are still underaged and some parents may not be too willing to release them so early to go to school and start cutting grass and all that.
“I hope that by tomorrow the situation should improve, because we have a tradition, the early comers on resumption day are given what we call test to encourage those that are staying back at home to resume, by the time those that have reported today go back and those at home hear from them that they were given test, you will see that tomorrow will improve, so it’s not a one day affair.
“To a reasonable extent I’m impressed, because the environment in most of the schools are neat, the grasses are cleared, the classrooms has been swept, everywhere is neat and the learners are even in attendance, the teachers are on ground not just the learners, even the teachers have resumed,” she stated.
