By Ajibola Olaide, JKNewsMedia Reporter
MONDAY MORNING, millions of Nigerian children headed back to school with the safety of their classrooms under renewed scrutiny, as widespread gaps in fencing, security personnel and other protective measures expose schools to continuing threats of attacks and abductions.
JKNewsMedia.com reports that over 45 million pupils in basic and secondary schools resumed academic activities after two of the deadliest academic years for schools in recent memory, marked by mass abductions, attacks on school facilities and the killing of students and teachers in several states.
Despite billions of naira committed to the Federal Government’s Safe Schools Initiative, a Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEA) audit said it found that 78 per cent of public schools still lack perimeter fencing, while 65 per cent operate without security guards.
Thus, the UBEA findings said it has renewed questions about the effectiveness of the initiative, which was established after the 2014 Chibok abduction to make schools safer.
UBEA said the government has promised improved access, learning and human capital development through the initiative, backed by a National Plan on Financing Safe Schools for 2023 to 2026.
But it said, rather, insecurity has continued to make school attendance dangerous in parts of the country.
UBEA also notes that the financing plan projected an investment of about N144.8 billion, including N119.83 billion from the Federal Government and N224.93 billion from states.
Yearly, allocations were projected at N32.59 billion in 2023, N36.99 billion in 2024, N37.16 billion in 2025 and N38.03 billion in 2026, although actual capital releases fell significantly short of the targets.
Federal direct appropriation for Safe Schools dropped by 67.8 per cent in 2024, from roughly N30.7 billion to N5.01 billion. The reduction created a single year funding shortfall of N25.7 billion.
The plan also expected the 36 states to contribute 17 per cent, stated as N24.93 billion, of the total financing and establish localised Safe School Coordination Centres.
It says its findings show that only fewer than 10 states have fully operationalised their counterpart structures or disbursed matching funds.
Giving a breakdown, UBEA notes that the government released N15 billion in 2023.
The Nigeria Police Force (NPF) received N6.2 billion, the National Security and Civil Defence Corps (CDC) received N3.3 billion, the Defence Headquarters (DHq) received N2.2 billion, while the Federal Ministry of Education (FME) received a smaller share.
Speaking, the National Coordinator of Financing Safe Schools (NCFSS), Halima Iliya, told the Senate that the scheme had no budget for 2024 and 2025.
She explained that her request to include the programme in the 2024 fiscal year was submitted to President Bola Tinubu too late.
The funding came under scrutiny when a Senate committee probed the N15 billion allocation on December 10, 2025.
The committee also questioned why the police received the largest share and why the outcomes of the spending remained largely invisible.
UBEA findings also said the government noted it has registered about 200,000 schools under the project and introduced school-based interventions, community protection efforts and special measures for high-risk areas.
It has also called on governors to domesticate the Safe School Transition Plan.
The national plan promised perimeter fencing, closed circuit television, early warning systems and the deployment of 24-hour armed NSCDC and police personnel to high-risk schools.
Corroborating UBEA, parents in Zamfara, Kaduna, Katsina and Niger, however, said they had seen no fences, guards or lights at their schools.
Education funding figures also added to the concern.
A Nigerian Economic Summit Group report showed that education’s allocation rose from N2.36 trillion in 2024 to N2.59 trillion in 2025, representing a 9.8 per cent increase. Capital expenditure, however, fell from N1.15 trillion to N938.58 billion, an 18.1 per cent decline.
Between May 2023 and June 2026, 758 students, teachers and school staff were held hostage in mass school related attacks.
With the new session beginning, some state governments are taking their own measures to strengthen school security.
In Oyo State, the police command, working with the Police Community Relations Committee, has unveiled an initiative aimed at creating a safer learning environment as schools resume.
Police spokesperson Olayinka Ayanlade said the command was also deepening engagement with the PCRC Safe School Club, school proprietors, administrators, Parent Teacher Associations and students.
The engagements are intended to establish a collaborative security framework for early identification, reporting and prevention of threats within and around schools.
Katsina State has localised the national Safe, violence free schools policy. Basic Education Commissioner Yusuf Jibia said security at boarding schools had been strengthened through the deployment of mobile police, community patrol teams and vigilante groups.
Jibia said each school had been assigned between six and 10 community patrol personnel to work alongside other security agencies.
In Enugu State, the government is extending its network of CCTV cameras, drones and command and control centres into schools.
Education Commissioner Ndubueze Mbah said traditional institutions, community chairmen and local government chairmen had been given active responsibility for school security in their respective political wards.
The financing plan also identifies physical vulnerability as a major concern. More than 42,000 primary and secondary schools across northern Nigeria lack perimeter fencing, while 4,270 secondary schools in 21 northern states and the Federal Capital Territory were listed as unfenced.
A school without perimeter fencing can lack a controlled entry point, a clear boundary, lighting and the ability to detect or delay an attack. In rural areas, schools can also be isolated from nearby settlements and security posts, leaving pupils and teachers exposed during opening, closing and overnight periods.
The National Safe Schools Response and Coordination Centre’s monitoring platform listed 11,550 schools in November 2025. By September 2026, the number had risen to 169,478 as more schools sought registration and protection amid renewed insecurity.
Registration, however, does not necessarily mean protection. Inclusion on a monitoring platform does not establish that a school has fencing, trained guards, an emergency plan, rapid response access, working communication equipment or regular security patrols.
There are calls for the government to publish what the Safe Schools Initiative has delivered, either school by school or at least state by state. The information should cover schools fenced, those equipped with alarms or communication systems, schools covered by patrols, teachers trained in emergency procedures, funds released to implementing agencies and schools still assessed as high risk.
The initiative’s success, stakeholders said, should be measured not by the size of its budget alone, but by whether children are safer.
For the 2026/2027 academic year, schools need reliable systems for reporting suspicious activity, verifying visitors, securing pickup points and communicating with parents during emergencies.
The security concerns are unfolding alongside a growing back to school cost burden for families.
Private school proprietors have defended fee increases of up to 30 per cent ahead of the new session, citing higher fuel costs, rent and teachers’ salaries. Transport fares have also soared, nearly doubling in major urban areas after repeated fuel price increases.
Families face tuition fees or levies, uniforms, textbooks, examination charges, meals, transport and, in some cases, technology fees. For households with more than one child, the combined cost can consume a substantial share of monthly income before food, rent, electricity and healthcare are considered.
Nigeria’s headline inflation stood at 15.43 per cent in July 2026, down from 15.91 per cent in June, according to figures reported by the National Bureau of Statistics. Food inflation, however, rose to 20.31 per cent in July from 17.52 per cent in June.
The slower rate of price increases does not mean that prices have returned to earlier levels. Families continue to face higher prices accumulated over previous years, while transport operators and school proprietors adjust charges to cover fuel, maintenance, wages, rent and power.
Higher petrol prices also increase the cost of school buses, public transport, staff commuting, generator use, and the movement of food and educational materials.
The pressure affects both families and schools. Parents struggle to meet rising costs, while schools face higher operating expenses. Sharp fee increases could push households towards cheaper, potentially less resourced schools, delay payments, reduce attendance or withdraw children altogether. Schools that absorb the increases may instead face pressure to reduce spending on staff, maintenance or security.
The Federal Government has also criticised practices that add to families’ financial burden without improving learning.
Public debate has focused on the compulsory purchase of single use textbooks and workbooks, as well as expensive graduation ceremonies for nursery pupils.
Parents are often required to buy books or workbooks that younger siblings cannot reuse, even where the content changes little from one year to the next.
Some schools also organise elaborate graduation ceremonies for children leaving nursery classes, requiring families to pay for gowns, photography, decorations, gifts and parties.
Based on market surveys and NBS inflation data, the paper estimates that if a nursery graduation costs N40,000 per child and there are one million nursery pupils in private schools, the cost amounts to N40 billion extracted from parents in a term, with inflation at 21.88 per cent.
If a combined textbook and workbook costs N8,500 and is discarded after one year, while a separate workbook costs N1,500 and a textbook can be reused for four years, a family with three children loses about N21,000 yearly. Across 10 million families, that amounts to N210 billion.
Private school proprietors are meanwhile putting additional security arrangements in place as pupils return.
The National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools said its members had enhanced security measures to protect pupils and staff.
Its National President, Chief Yomi Otubela, said security remained a priority for private schools.
He said schools were expected to strengthen access control, perimeter security, surveillance, lighting, secure gates and controlled entry and exit points, alongside the deployment of security personnel.
Otubela said schools had also been encouraged to assess security conditions in their immediate environments and introduce preventive measures to identify vulnerabilities before incidents occur.
He called on the government and security agencies to strengthen security around schools and urged private school operators to remain proactive.
The President of the Association for Formidable Educational Development, Mr Orji Kanu, said schools must ensure that perimeter fencing remained intact and gates were properly manned, with access granted only to people who had legitimate reasons to be on school premises.
Kanu said AFED, through its development partners and trainers, had provided training on safeguarding and emergency response and expected member schools to comply with its guidelines.
He added that members had been advised to establish links with local and community security personnel and groups for support during emergencies.
Kanu also disclosed that AFED was collaborating with several state governments that recognised the need for mutual support in securing schools.
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