By Daniel Oluwatobiloba Popoola
The Federal Government has announced fresh plans to strengthen the Safe Schools Initiative through deeper collaboration with security agencies, as it moves to protect teachers, pupils and school facilities across the country’s 774 local government areas.
The development was disclosed on Friday,31 July, 2026 when the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, briefed the Senate Ad-hoc Committee on the Safe Schools Initiative, chaired by Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, amid renewed concerns over recurring attacks on schools, kidnappings of students and teachers, and growing calls for improved security infrastructure in educational institutions.
Speaking after the interface with the committee, Alausa said the Federal Ministry of Education was working with key security agencies to develop a comprehensive national framework for school safety.
He disclosed that the ministry had established a dedicated Safe Schools Department to drive the initiative and ensure better coordination, noting that the unit had previously been too small to handle the scope of the assignment.
He explained that the ministry was collaborating closely with the Office of the National Security Adviser, the Department of State Services, the Armed Forces, the Nigeria Police and other security agencies to develop the framework, stressing that school safety could not be handled in a fragmented manner.
According to him, the Safe Schools Initiative extends beyond physical security to include perimeter fencing, solar-powered lighting, water and sanitation facilities, recruitment of school security personnel, deployment of technology and the establishment of effective monitoring systems.
Alausa also sought the transfer of management of funds for the initiative from the Ministry of Finance to the Ministry of Education, arguing that his ministry was better positioned to coordinate implementation of the programme.
He maintained that the various components of the initiative required a central command-and-control structure, adding that while security agencies would continue to perform their constitutional duties, the Federal Ministry of Education would provide policy direction, coordinate implementation with states and ensure that every school benefited from the programme.
The Minister further disclosed that since he assumed office, the only significant disbursements under the initiative had been targeted interventions to the Nigeria Police Force and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, which were administered through the Federal Ministry of Finance.
He said the establishment of the full-fledged Safe Schools Department underscored the ministry’s readiness to take direct responsibility for managing the intervention funds.
Reacting in a separate interview, the Minister of Finance, Mr Taiwo Oyedele, downplayed concerns over which ministry should control the funds, insisting that the issue would be resolved by the government.
He explained that by law, the Ministry of Finance manages service-wide votes and interventions since the minister acts as the accountant for the country, working alongside the Office of the Accountant General.
Oyedele maintained that the overriding priority was ensuring that schools were adequately protected and that funds were released promptly to prevent security breaches, rather than which ministry controlled the budget.
He said the focus should be on how to ensure adequate funding and timely release of monies to prevent crimes rather than resorting to damage control afterwards.
The Senate ad-hoc committee has continued to engage relevant ministries and agencies as part of its ongoing review of the Safe Schools Initiative, with a view to strengthening the programme and improving security across schools nationwide.
