Stakeholders ask states to develop laws to tackle GBV in schools

Stakeholders in the education sector have asked the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN) to develop a code of conduct that will directly address Gender Based Violence (GBV) in schools across the country.  According to them, the action has become necessary as presently, there is no specific law that regulates the practice in schools, despite […]

Stakeholders ask states to develop laws to tackle GBV in schools

Stakeholders in the education sector have asked the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN) to develop a code of conduct that will directly address Gender Based Violence (GBV) in schools across the country.

 According to them, the action has become necessary as presently, there is no specific law that regulates the practice in schools, despite the report of increasing effect of the problem across the country.

 At a panel discussion organised by TRCN in collaboration with Development Research and Projects Centre (dRPC) in Kano on Thursday, the stakeholders, comprising of school teachers, TRCN, ministries of education and of women affairs as well as the civil society organisations, argue that absence of specific punishment is disturbing.

 Munzali Muhammad Mustapha, Director, Planning Research and Statistics in the Kano State Ministry of Education, said they will soon come up with a career path to train teachers on ways of preventing GBV in schools across the state.

Earlier, the TRCN State Coordinator in Kano, Abdullahi Idris, lamented that there is no specific law on addressing GBV in Nigerian schools, but said, “There is an item on child rights and integrity, which says teachers should treat every child with respect without any prejudice to their gender, religion, race or ethnicity.”

 He then called on each state to develop an implementable code of conduct for addressing GBV in schools, taking into cognisance her peculiarities.