Nigeria's Safe Schools Initiative Faces Funding and Implementation Gaps

Zurray Integrated Services Ltd released a policy intelligence assessment warning that Nigeria's Safe Schools Initiative, launched in 2014, suffers from discontinuous budgeting, fragmented institutional ownership, weak execution transparency and static risk targeting. While the federal government allocated about N144.8 billion for 2023‑2026, only N15 billion was released in 2023, with most funds directed to security agencies and limited resources reaching the Ministry of Education. The firm called for an urgent redesign of the programme’s financing and implementation architecture to ensure measurable protection for learners and teachers.

Separately, the 1996 alumni of Federal Government College Ogbomoso urged the government to intensify security and upgrade infrastructure across public and private schools, especially in rural areas. The alumni highlighted recent pupil abductions, praised recent military and police patrols, and noted a N30 million renovation of school facilities. They called for coordinated action among education stakeholders to create safer learning environments nationwide.