Why security around schools is imperative

According to experts, a safe and secure environment is a sine qua non for students of all ages since it helps learners to develop confidence and focus on their most important assignment – studies. 

While some schools, especially standard private schools place a lot of premium on the provision of safe learning environments, most public schools, as well as “mushroom” private schools leave so much to chance.
  
The spate at which schools across the country are exposed to diverse man-made and natural disasters, especially kidnapping, sexual harassment, substance abuse, and sundry violence lends credence to the fact that a lot needs to be done to keep learners safe, and insulate them from dangerous mishaps, including death.

Luck ran out of Temitayo Olafisoye, who was arrested, while his accomplice, Kayode Akinola, escaped from the scene.
 
Narrating the incident, the Education Director of the school, Mrs. Bolajoko Falore, said that as soon as the parent, who had pulled over to drop the child stepped out of the car, “one of the kidnappers, who assumed that the ignition key was still in the car, entered the car and attempted to drive off, while the parent was trying to get the child out of the car.

“Fortunately, the parent who was holding the car key shouted and drew the attention of the school’s security men and that of other security operatives within the estate, who closed in on the kidnapper and got him arrested, while his partner escaped.

“Upon interrogation, the suspect confessed that the gang has been kidnapping many children in Lagos State for some time now and was subsequently handed over to the Nigeria Police Force at Ojodu Police Station for a thorough investigation, and subsequent prosecution,” Falore said.

After listening to Olafisoye’s confession in a viral video clip, which trended heavily on social media, Mrs. Yewande Omotoso, a mother of three was dumbstruck. When she finally found her voice, she elected to wax philosophical.

“Perhaps what I’ve just watched was intended to serve as a big lesson for me,” she said, adding, “ I don’t know what I would have told my husband if what I just watched happened to me.”

Omotoso continued: “I’m a nursing mother, and my two other kids, a boy, and a girl are of school age. So, when I’m dropping them off at school, I always leave the car engine running with my third child sleeping in the carrier in the back seat. A couple of times, my husband has cautioned me against doing that, but for some strange reasons, I always told myself that the chances of such a thing happening were almost non-existent. 

“With what was averted at Mind Builders School, I can tell you for sure that I will never see my kids to the school gate without the car engine being off, and the vehicle securely locked.”

She also appealed to schools to rise to the occasion and spare parents and guardians, the trauma of losing their children to kidnappers and sundry criminals that abound.

Like Omotoso, many parents have continued to endanger the lives of their kids and wards by not taking precautionary steps when they are dropping them off in schools. 

But as a way of creating sufficient awareness among parents on the need for them not to throw caution to the wind, or take for granted, the security of their children and wards during drop-off and pick-up periods, the school authority organised a personal security awareness forum, with the topic: “Security Consciousness for Parents.” 
  
The school’s education director, Mrs. Falore, in her remarks at the event emphasised the need for parents to be more security conscious of their environments. 
  
The Group Managing Director, Mega Guards Services Limited, Richard Amuwa, who spoke at the forum, charged parents not to toy with the security of their loved ones, just as he tasked them to always be alert and thoroughly assess their environments when dropping off, or picking up children at schools. 
  
The security consultant, who stressed the need for all to be always alert, said the worsening insecurity in the country calls for such alertness.

She said: “If we all stay united, we will progress in better ways. It’s one thing to pass a circular around, or train parents, but it’s another thing for parents to respond appropriately to such circulars. Since PTAs include teachers as well, we all need to keep praying while acting our parts. Importantly, PTAs can also support by sensitising, training, and providing gadgets that aid the process of beefing up schools’ security systems, even as a few schools also engage the services of armed security officials in very sensitive areas.”

Since schools have become some of the softest targets for kidnappers who shepherd away hordes of students, what should be the basic minimum that a school should do to keep learners safe? 

The Lead Faculty, at Etiquette Poise and Protocol Resource Academy, said: “Everyone needs to be prayerful, and very vigilant. This is not a time to employ just anyone in the name of school security staff. It’s not also about wearing a uniform and standing by the gate, but about employing quality security staff that are trained to do the job.

She continued: “Schools must do due diligence before engaging any staff at all – from minders to teaching staff because sometimes, these evil people act based on information that they have at their disposal. So, schools should also train parents on matters of security so that everyone is security conscious, careful, and proactive.”

Her words: “School runs is not a time to hang out, but if you have to, kindly ensure caution. Thank God that the mother in the Mind Builders School case removed the key from the ignition as she turned round to open the door for her child.

“Parents should also watch out for others. It’s very risky to be on your phone when you pick up or drop off your child. This is a time that all hands must be on deck. If in the process of doing this you notice a strange face looming in the neighborhood, the right thing is to raise the alarm,” she said.