With 6.3million Out Of School Children In Northern Nigeria, Insurgents Force Gombe To Order Closure Of Schools

Gombe State Government on Wednesday ordered the closure of all public and private schools in the state, a day after attack by suspected Boko Haram terrorists on two towns in the state.

The parents who took their children to school on Wednesday were told to take them back as the schools had been closed on the orders of the government.

NewsWireNGR recalls that the United Nations International Children Education Fund (UNICEF) had in July 2014 raised an alarm that the Northeastern region of Nigeria which has always remained educationally backward may be further drawn back by the recent Boko Haram siege on the region.

The development has led to more number of out of school children. UNICEF  statistics showed that Nigeria has 10.5 million children out of school – the highest number in the world of which nearly 6.3 million, or 60 per cent, of the 10.5 million Nigerian children out of school children live in the northern part of the country.

Mrs Edith Williams, Headmistress, Bethany International College, Gombe said that said she received a circular on Tuesday evening that all schools should be closed down for security reasons.

Some parents who spoke commended the state government for the action, saying it was a necessary action to safeguard the students.
One of the parents, Mrs Hannatu Musa said she was happy with the development as it would help to secure the children.

The gunmen had on Tuesday attacked Nafada and Ashaka, over 130 kilometres from Gombe, barely a week after suspected terrorists had exploded a bomb at a motor park in the state capital.