By Olasunkanmi Akoni

Lagos State Government, on Monday, introduced a safety initiative, Safe School Lagos, SSLAG, aimed to prevent a repeat of the tragic incident which led to the controversial death of a Dowen College student, Sylvester Oromoni, 12, in school premises.

In a similar development, Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency, DSVA, in collaboration with Office of Education Quality Assurance, OEQA, has embarked on a sensitization programme to engage heads and administrators of schools on implementing the Lagos State Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy.

On the safety initiative, the state government, stressed that it part of proactive measures to curb bullying, cultism, auto accidents among others in both the public and private schools across the state.

The state’s Commissioner for Education, Mrs. Folashade Adefisayo, unveiled the initiative at a workshop organised by the Lagos State Safety Commission, LSSC, with the theme:” School Safety Initiatives Workshop,” held at Alausa, Ikeja.

The commissoner, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Mr. Abayomi Abolaji, said beside the measure being put in place to curb bullying in schools, the state government has started identifying schools on major roads that are prone to auto crash, in order to prevent reoccurrence of incident that happened at grammar school in Ojodu area.

He noted that the schools on the highway would have speed breakers and traffic lights while officers like Neighborhood Watchers, Federal Road Safety Corps, Lagos Safety Commission would be engaged to ameliorate the situation.

Also speaking, the Director General, Lagos State Safety Commission, Mr. Lanre Mojola, explained that the whole essence of the safety school initiative is to ensure that schools environment across the state are safer while the students are made to cohabit within a conducive learning atmosphere.

According to Mojola, “Safer schools produce safer children and safer children are the bedrock of the future. So what we shall be doing is to meet school operators and engage them on how we can make safety the fulcrum of the curriculum within the schools.

‘’How can we ensure that teachers teach basic principles of safety and to ensure children interact in a safe environment.

“Safety begins with you and zero accident is possible if we all work together and in a safe environment.”

He stressed that safety measures are very important to ensure physical safety, disease control, discourage bullying and alcohol abuse, as well as training the school owners on how to ensure schools are safer.

He added that the workshop is centered on owners of boarding schools in Lagos State as the commission would soon extend similar exercise to other stakeholders.

Other stakeholders at the event stressed the need for high quality standard, quality parenting and community involvement for safety to be achieved.

They also suggested a systemic approach to manage safety in schools and colleges as well as ensuring total compliance as people should see safety as part of daily lives.

On safeguarding and child protection policy, the Executive Secretary, Lagos State DSVA, Mrs. Titilola Vivour- Adeniyi, said it was part of measures to ensure the safety and overall well-being of children in schools.

The two-day sensitization programme which was held between the 4th and 8th of April, 2022 at Adeyemi Bero Auditorium, Alausa, Ikeja, aimed at educating principals and heads of schools located in the Lagos State Education District 1.

In attendance were about 700 principals, school Administrators and Heads of Schools, drawn from Alimosho, Ifako Ijaiye and Agege zones.

Vivour- Adeniyi reiterated the need to ensure that structures are put in place to ensure the safety and overall well-being of children in schools.

According to her, ‘Enforcement is superior to enlightenment’ therefore it has become pertinent to educate teachers and heads of schools on their roles in ensuring that the policy is effectively implemented.”

“These rights are inalienable and should be protected in order to prevent a mismanaged childhood, as a ‘mismanaged childhood leads to a dysfunctional adulthood,” Vivour-Adeniyi stated.

Mr. Taiwo Akinlami, a child protection expert, spoke extensively on the rights of a child and the cultural perceptions of child abuse.

Children were also enlightened about their rights such as: right to life, to develop, have a decent standard of living and to be protected from abuse.

Mrs. Modupeola Adebambo provided an overview of the Executive Order on Safegurding and Child Protection Policy.

Adebambo, further examined the roles and responsibilities of principals of schools in ensuring full compliance of the policy and safety of their students in terms of having a safer recruitment procedure, adopting a safeguarding policy and a designated safeguarding officer.

The representative of the Director General of Office of Education Quality Assurance, Mrs. Bimpe Savage highlighted the types of the abuse and the need for schools to put precautionary measures in place to ensure the safety of the children.

She therefore, urged the participants to take advantage of the free online course on ‘Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy’ available on the website www.safeguardingchildren.org.ng

Savage reassured residents of the agency’s “firm commitment towards safety and protection of all our children in Lagos State, even as this Initiative is to be held for all education districts in the state.”