As schools across Taraba State prepare to reopen on Monday, the early morning rush will no doubt take on a new meaning for thousands of families. Where students once woke within school compounds, guided by bells and supervised routines, many will now begin their days before dawn, boarding buses, trekking long distances, or negotiating unreliable transport just to make it to class.
Weeks after Governor Agbu Kefas ordered the immediate closure of all boarding hostels in public and private secondary schools, the policy is steadily reshaping daily life for students, parents, and educators.
Introduced as a safety measure amid rising insecurity and fears of student abductions, the decision has forced all boarding students in the state to return home, effectively transforming every secondary school into a day school.
The government maintains that the move was necessary. Commissioner for Education, Augustina Godwin, said the directive followed a nationwide surge in kidnappings, including attacks on schools in several states. In Taraba, she explained, boarding facilities had become particularly vulnerable, with recent incidents heightening concerns about student safety.
But beyond the intentions of policymakers, the lived consequences are becoming harder to ignore.
For many students, boarding school was more than a place to sleep. It provided structure, set study hours, close supervision, and a stable learning environment often missing at home. Teachers say that stability has been abruptly replaced by longer commutes, irregular attendance, and increased distractions.
“Learning time has been cut,” a teacher said, pointing to students who now arrive late, exhausted, or miss classes entirely. “Some of them travel hours every day. By the time they get here, they are already worn out.”
Parents feel the strain just as deeply. Those living far from schools, particularly in rural areas, say daily attendance has become an exhausting and costly obligation. Transport fares, meals, and constant supervision must now be balanced with work and other responsibilities.
“What used to be a full-time school solution is now an exhausting daily obligation,” one parent said. “You have to rush to work, rush back, think about food, transport, and safety all at once.”
Low-income families, parents say, are bearing the heaviest burden. In some homes, the cost and stress are already forcing difficult decisions. The Guardian observed rising absenteeism in several schools, while some families are considering withdrawing their children altogether.
Education stakeholders warn that the policy could deepen inequality. For decades, boarding schools served as a bridge for students from remote communities, offering access to education that geography would otherwise deny them. Without hostels, school heads fear that only families in urban centres or with reliable resources can sustain regular attendance.
A secondary school principal, who requested anonymity, expressed particular concern for girls and other marginalised groups. Daily travel, he said, raises safety and cultural concerns that could push them out of school first.
“This decision affects everyone, but not equally,” he noted. “Some children will simply disappear from the classroom.”
Teachers also point to longstanding challenges in Taraba’s education system: dilapidated infrastructure, overcrowded classrooms, and shortages of basic facilities such as water and toilets.
Removing boarding options, they argue, has compounded these problems, leaving already vulnerable students with even fewer pathways to learning.
The concern extends beyond the state. The Christian Reformed Church–Nigeria (CRC-N), in a communiqué issued after its 161st General Church Council in Takum, warned that while insecurity in schools is real, shutting down boarding facilities could harm national development.
Acknowledging what it described as improvements in security under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the Church urged authorities to strengthen protection around schools rather than restrict access to education.
School administrators echo that call. Without additional safeguards or a review of the policy, they warn, many children, especially those from rural and low-income communities, risk being pushed permanently out of the system.
“For many students, boarding schools offered stability and support,” one principal said quietly. “Losing that environment is more damaging than many people realise.”
As Taraba’s classrooms reopen, the challenge facing the state is no longer just about security. Educationists say it is about balance: how to protect students without closing the very doors that give them a chance at a better future. Without that balance, they warn, the cost may be a generation left behind.
