The Katsina State government has initiated a process to domesticate the National Policy on Safety, Security, and Violence-Free Schools (NPSSVFS), designed to protect children and teachers from attacks.

The commissioner for basic and secondary education, Zainab Musa-Musawa, said this while receiving the policy document on Monday in Katsina.

The event was part of activities to mark the sixth International Day to Protect Education from Attack, to be observed on September 9, 2025.

The event is being organised in collaboration between the ministry, Save the Children International (SCI), GoalPrime Nigeria, and the Education Cannot Wait First Emergency Response (ECW-FER) project.

The theme of the maiden event is “Challenging Narratives, Reshaping Action.”

Ms Musa-Musawa said insecurity in Nigeria, particularly in the North-West, disrupted schools and affected learning for children, especially in the state.

She said the state government has adopted proactive measures to make schools safe, secure, and inclusive for children.

“Under Governor Dikko Radda’s leadership, we’re investing in educational infrastructure, teacher capacity building, security coordination, and psychosocial support for children affected by insecurity.

“We acknowledge the intervention of our development and humanitarian partners, especially Save the Children and GoalPrime Organisation of Nigeria, with funding support from ECW FER,” she said.

The commissioner said that through the intervention, the state has established community-based child protection committees, provided psychosocial support services, and rehabilitated disability-friendly classrooms, gender-segregated toilets, and capacity building for teachers.

According to Ms Musa-Musawa, the state government is prioritising protection to create a safe and more secure learning environment for students and teachers through reshaping actions.

“This will be done through the domestication and implementation of the initiatives of the state governor,” she said.

She stated that the state government, in collaboration with development partners, trained 30 master trainers on the NPSSVFS to enhance community-level awareness and early warning systems.

Ms Musa-Musawa reiterated her commitment to the protection of children’s rights to education under a protective environment.

Badar Musa, deputy director of advocacy at SCI, said the policy also ensures that all relevant stakeholders have a role to play in ensuring school children are safe.

“Domesticating this policy in Katsina will look at the contextual issues within the state. Once it’s domesticated, the community-level engagement will be strengthened, and people will begin to report issues around attacks on schools, abduction, kidnapping, and things related to that,” he said.

Katsina Children’s Parliament recently demanded the domestication of the policy on violence-free schools.

(NAN)