Following the growing rate of abduction of school girls in the North-east, Borno state government, yesterday, shut female boarding schools in 25 local government areas of the state.
Over 200 schoolgirls were abducted in April 14, 2014 at GGSS Chibok, in Chibok local government of the state, just as another 110 from Government Girls Science Technical College, Dapchi, suff ered similar fate few weeks ago in neighbouring Yobe state.
Speaking to journalists on the modalities put in place to prevent further abduction of students, Borno state Commissioner for Education, Comrade Inuwa Kubo, said all female boarding schools except those in Maiduguri and Biu, had been closed.
By implication, he said, all female boarding schools in 25 of the 27 local government areas of the state have been closed down.
“We have decided to relocate all our girls in boarding schools within Maiduguri or Biu because we do not want a recurrence of the Chibok case.
“If the entire security situation is not addressed, one cannot be sure what could happen.
If people start seeing that over time there is no more attack, they will know that peace has returned.
“But in a situation where you cannot move to some parts of the state without an escort and you are hearing that in some cases soldiers are being ambushed, do you deceive yourself and say everything is okay? “We cannot allow them to continue to remain in boarding schools where the security is porous.
We have to relocate the girls to boarding schools within the metropolis and we equally took proactive steps on the male boarding schools.
“Because they cannot be said to be interested in girls alone; it is just that they found more attraction in abducting girls.
There is more to gain by the insurgents when they abduct girls because of the concern the people and government have for the womenfolk.
“We have collapsed all the girls’ From page 1 boarding schools into Biu and Maiduguri.
There are some other communities which operate all-girl schools but are not boarding schools; they have day schools, with the girls going back to their homes to sleep,” Kubo said.
Kubo further applauded the police for deploying their men in schools within the state.
He urged that the tempo is sustained and not an action dictated by emotion, brought about by the abduction of Dapchi schoolgirls.
