Across many parts of Nigeria, classrooms that should be buzzing with morning chatter have suddenly gone quiet. Desks sit empty, school gates locked—not because students don’t want to learn, but because insecurity has forced entire communities to hit pause on education.
Parents, teachers, students and education unions are now raising the alarm: if schools continue to shut down due to repeated attacks, the damage may linger long after the danger has passed. Some children may struggle to return. Some parents may hesitate to send them back. And for many communities, education—the one escape route from poverty—now feels threatened.
Yet despite the fear, these stakeholders insist one thing: closing schools does NOT mean criminals are winning. Rather, it is a painful but necessary step until safety is restored.
Parents Say Safety Comes First
Chief Deolu Ogunbanjo of NAPTAN explained that shutting down schools is not surrender—it’s protection.
“You cannot send a child to school when danger is near,” he said. “Let governments secure the schools properly. Students can only learn when they are alive and safe.”
Teachers Still Grieving, Still Demanding Safety
For the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), the crisis hits even closer. One teacher was recently killed in Kebbi during an attack. The students were eventually rescued, but a family was left shattered forever.
The NUT says the trauma students and parents feel is real, but insists the government must provide counselling and concrete safety plans before reopening schools. “Prevention is better than cure,” they maintain.
Students: “We Are In A Critical Situation”
The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) describes the nation’s education sector as standing at a dangerous crossroads. They warn that closing schools without fixing security sends the wrong message, but keeping them open without protection is irresponsible.
University Lecturers: “Education Cannot Survive Where Fear Lives”
CONUA, representing university lecturers, stresses that preserving life must come before lectures or exams. They want the government to give security agencies a firm, time-bound mandate to eliminate threats around schools within a year.
To them, temporary school closures are not defeat but strategy—“stooping to conquer.”
The long-term win? Safe schools, confident parents, fearless students.
Government Under Pressure
The Senate has now launched a major investigation into the billions allocated to the Safe School Initiative—a programme created after the Chibok abductions to protect schools nationwide. With millions of dollars raised and billions of naira budgeted, lawmakers are demanding to know why schools remain vulnerable.