A civil society organisation, Youthcare Development and Empowerment Initiative (YcDEI), has raised the alarm that nearly half of pupils in primary schools in Nigeria have experienced one form of school-related violence, warning that the trend threatens children’s safety and undermines learning outcomes.

The group disclosed that findings from a previous multi-state study revealed that about 47 per cent of primary school pupils had been exposed to School-Related Gender-Based Violence (SRGBV), including bullying, harassment, emotional abuse and other harmful practices within and around school environments.

Executive Director of YcDEI, Prof. Adefunke Ekine, who spoke at a media briefing at the International Conference Centre (ICC), University of Ibadan, said the statistics highlight the urgent need for stronger interventions to protect children and create safer learning environments across the country.

The professor explained that the research adopted both quantitative and qualitative methods to gather information from pupils and teachers on the prevalence of school-related gender-based violence, as well as reporting systems in place in schools.

She noted that the findings underscore the reality that many children face unsafe conditions in schools, which negatively affect academic performance, school attendance, mental health and long-term development.

Ekine said that the organisation, in the recent pilot study, with support from Funds for Innovation in Development (FID), recently implemented a pilot intervention in Ibadan involving over 1,800 pupils and 200 teachers across 45 public primary schools to test strategies aimed at reducing violence in schools.

The initiative, according to her, focused on a two-pronged strategy targeting both teachers and pupils, saying that teachers were trained on child protection principles, positive discipline approaches and reporting procedures, while pupils were educated on recognising abuse, understanding their rights and using safe reporting mechanisms.

She, however, lauded the education reforms introduced by the administration of Governor Seyi Makinde, noting that improvements in schools’ infrastructure, teachers’ recruitment and policies aimed at expanding access to education would provide a strong foundation for strengthening child protection systems in schools.

The professor, who stressed that addressing the problem requires sustained training for teachers, stronger reporting channels and active collaboration between schools, government agencies, parents and communities, called for the institutionalisation of SRGBV prevention programmes in schools nationwide and the scaling up of evidence-based interventions to ensure that pupils can learn in safe and inclusive environments free from violence.