The Nigerian government’s 'Safe School Initiative' has received a boost of N3.2 billion.
The sum is made of two parts of N1.6 billion released by the federal government and another N1.6 billion donated by the private sector.
Minister of Finance, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala made the disclosure on Tuesday after a meeting of stakeholders of the initiative with President Jonathan in Abuja.
The Safe School Initiative is expected to accommodate children displaced from their schools due to the present insurgency rocking the country. The over 200 girls who were kidnapped in Chibok two months ago are to benefit from these funds.
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said, “We are intent on trying to make sure that our children in the states have an environment in which they can come back to school and not have their education truncated.”
Special Envoy to the UN Secretary General for Global Education, Gordon Brown said the reconstruction of the secondary school in Chibok is paramount to the United Nations.
“I am here to say that we wish as an international community to do everything we can to back up the efforts of President Goodluck Jonathan and the governors of the states to make sure these girls are returned to their families and at the same time to make sure, that every parent feels that they can send their children to school knowing that they will be safe in the future.”
Yobe and Borno governors said they are committed to making the initiative a huge success.
Ibrahim Geidam, Yobe state governor, said, “I promise to give him all the necessary cooperation to ensure that the programme succeeds.”
Kashim Shettima, Borno state governor, said, “Times like this calls for sobriety, for maturity, for unity of purpose. At the appropriate time we are going to play politics, but this is not time to play politics with the lives of the people.”
The federal government and the international community are bent on encouraging displaced students back to school.
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