More than 12 million children have been forced out of school in Nigeria because of insurgency and banditry. In the northern part of Nigeria, school children, especially girls, have had to experience kidnapping by terrorist groups who target school children for ransom. The rising cases of banditry and insurgency targeting school children affect school attendance rates and create a cycle of trauma for students and their teachers.
On April 14th 2015, 276 schoolgirls between the ages of 12 and 18 were abducted by Boko Haram terrorists from a secondary school in Chibok, Borno state. Available reports show that at least 1409 students and 17 teachers have been kidnapped from schools in Nigeria, with 220 million naira paid as ransom.
Nigeria signed the Safe Schools declaration on May 29th, 2015, an international commitment that expresses support for protecting students, teachers and their schools during armed conflict. It stresses the importance of continued education during emergencies, which is often disrupted.
The development Research and Projects Centre, a nongovernmental organization with funding from Ford Foundation and technical support from the Education in Emergencies Working Group Nigeria (EiEWGN) and UNICEF, is leading a project to support civil society organizations in 14 states towards meeting the recommendations of the Safe Schools Declaration.
The project aims to build the knowledge base of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) in states, School-Based Management Committees (SBMCs), school children, and community leaders on the recommendations from the 4th International Conference on Safe Schools Declaration held in Abuja, Nigeria. It aims to strengthen and build the capacity of MDAs, SBMCs, community leaders and parents on the impact of banditry and kidnapping on education and prevention of attacks.