Abuja – Nigeria’s Minister of State for Education, Chief Nyesom Wike, on Friday urged educationists to take strict security measures in schools.

Nyesom Wike
PHOTO: FaceBook

Wike said this while declaring open a one-day National Exam and Ethics, Students and Safe School Summit.

The Minister, represented by his Special Assistant, Mr Lambert Opara, said it was unfortunate that schools and children had become primary target of terrorists in the country.

“There is the need to ensure maximum safety for our schools and children. It is imperative that we take necessary actions to achieve this.

“This is responsible for the launching of the safe school initiative manual to make and secure all schools for effective and uninterrupted teaching and learning to take place,’ ’he said.

He said the government was committed to the safe school project and called on Nigerians to further support government’s efforts to end the activities of the insurgents.

Wike said the war against terrorism was a collective responsibility, adding, “we must rise above partisan or sectoral interests and join the government to confront and rescue our country from the scourge of terrorism,” he said.

He urged Nigerians not to rest until the threats of insecurity in schools were eliminated.

Mr Jude Imagwe, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Youth and Student Matters, said it had become imperative for the citizen to be vigilant for the country to overcome insecurity.

Imagwe also said there was need for concerted efforts to stem the tide of exam examination malpractice.

He said the government was committed to ensuring that the nation’s education institutions were well protected.

Prof. Julius Okojie, The Executive Secretary, National Universities Commission, said examination malpractice had become a major challenge to the managers of the nation’s education sector.

Okojie, represented by Prof. Eshiet Essien, Chairman, Committee on Private Universities, NUC, said exam fraud had continued to be sophisticated each passing year.

“It is necessary for stakeholders in the education sector to entrench merit in examination processes to produce human resources that will effectively drive the economy,” he said.

He said family values and proper home training should be inculcated on the younger ones.

The Chairman, Exam Ethics Marshals International, Mr Ike Onyechere, said the summit was an avenue to seek an education system capable of producing leaders with the character to shun corruption.