By Magnus Emuji
Delta State Chapter of the National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools (NAPPS) has intensified efforts towards sensitising its members, Parent Teachers Association(PTA), students, critical community leaders as well as stakeholders in the education sector on the need to ensure that schools were safe for learners and teachers in the state.
As part of strategy to achieve the implementation of the Safe School Declaration Programme which contains the Safety, Security and violence-free learning environment implementation guidelines, the association took action after participation in the Sensitization and Focal Group Discussion organised by the Afro Centre for Development Peace and Justice in collaboration with Development Research and Project Centre(DRPC) and in partnership with Ford Foundation.
The association continued the workshop which it flagged off on March 16, 2022, in Asaba and other locations across the state.
Speaking during the workshop, the State President of NAPPS, Deacon Monday Ifoghere said that it was the responsibility of every stakeholder to ensure that the school environment was free from anything that could inhibit effective learning activities, make schools unsafe or pose a security risk to all.
While highlighting areas where the training was conducted to include Asaba, Agbor, Ozoro, Kwale, Sapele, and Udu, Deacon Ifoghere lauded Afro Centre for Peace and Development (AFRODEP) and the Development Research and Project Centre as well as the Ford Foundation for selecting Delta State as one of the implementing states in the South-South Zone.
Earlier in her presentation, the Lead Resource Person and the Executive Director of AFRODEP in the state, Augusta Impact Keneboh enjoined participants to maximise the benefits of the workshop for the overall development of the education sector.
She explained that the capacity building was aimed at encouraging stakeholders to be conscious of the safety of children in every learning environment, adding that the programme was targeted at achieving a more conducive teaching and learning environment in the state.
Participants who spoke during the workshop commended the organisers for deeming it fit to articulate what they described as laudable initiative and called for the sustenance of the programme.
They pledged to carry out an aggressive enlightenment campaign to sensitize, engage, build the capacity of the people within their domains on the importance of safety in schools so as to drive the education system to a greater height.
