A United Kingdom-funded governance programme says it is mobilising Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) to support Kaduna State Government in addressing security challenges in schools.

Mr Adejor Abel, the State Team Lead of the Programme, Partnership to Engage Reform and Learn (PERL), made this known in Zaria on Wednesday.

Abel spoke at a two-day discussion with non-stake actors on insecurity and community effort to sustainable education in Kaduna State.

He said the meeting was organised in collaboration with Kaduna State Basic Education Accountability Mechanism (KADBEAM) to drive public private dialogue on education and insecurity.

According to him, the goal is to bring stakeholders together to look at the current security situation in the state, how it affects education and learning and what needs to be done.

“We want CSOs to rub minds on ways to support ongoing efforts to improve the security situation in the state.

“PERL, through its Engage Citizens Pillar, will continue to provide technical support and work with citizens in addressing concerns around governance and education in particular,” he said.

The Co-Chair, KADBEAM, Mr Tijjani Aliyu, pointed out that education was the business of everyone, adding that insecurity was affecting the smooth running of schools and contributing to school dropouts.

Aliyu said that the discussions would bring to the front burner the magnitude of security challenges affecting schools in the state for the CSOs to suggest the way forward.

Mrs Hadiza Aliyu, Co-Chair (Citizens), Open Government Partnership, said the education system was being threatened by the protracted security situation in the country.

Aliyu said that vandalism, attack on schools by hoodlums, kidnappings, banditry, and other insecurity issues had continued to impact negatively on the learning environment.

She said that the meeting was organised to deepen discussions on the effects of insecurity on the educational system in the state toward ensuring a safe and protective learning environment.

Aliyu said the move was also to deepen discussions on policies associated with education and insecurity and other issues in the educational system caused by insecurity in the state.

According to him, the efforts will increase access, attendance, reduce truancy, enhance retention and completion rate.

Also speaking, Mrs Rahila Bainta, the Executive Director, Dogara Community Development Foundation, stressed the need for communities to identify early signs of impending security challenges so that communities could take proactive steps to mitigate it.

Bainta, who spoke on the concept of traditional early warning systems in communities, said that by sharing critical information, were key to maintaining a safe learning environment.

She urged community members to share information on movements of strange individuals in communities with relevant community leaders and security agencies for proactive measures to be taken.

The community members, School-Based Management Committees, Parents Teachers Association, and other community structures must be involved in strengthening security situations in schools by acting on early warning signs. (NAN)