JOS – Mr Sylvester Yakubu, Chairman, the Plateau State chapter of Parents Teachers Association (PTA), on Friday advised students to be more security conscious and consistently alert to avert attacks on their schools.
“Students must help the security agencies by being observant and reporting any suspicious objects or persons to the authorities,’’ Yakubu told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Jos.
The chairman warned students against believing that security was solely the responsibility of security agents and stressed the need for all to be stakeholders toward a peaceful and orderly society.
“Students know their colleagues and should therefore be able to detect strangers among them. They should insist on ascertaining the identity of such strange persons.
“They (students), should keep an eye on the premises and other vicinities so as to identify outsiders that could be lurking around the compound and fences with evil intents,’’ he advised.
Yakubu also enjoined school authorities, especially in boarding schools, to install security gadgets to safeguard students.
“We also expect such schools to increase the number of security personnel stationed in and around such schools,’’ he urged.
The chairman described students and schools as very vulnerable soft spots for terrorists, and appealed to the federal and state governments to work out more security measures to secure that group.
He also challenged school authorities to train and equip their security personnel to enable them tackle current challenges, cautioning against taking anything for granted.
Yakubu also warned school authorities against ignoring any security information volunteered by students or members of the public, pointing out that such carelessness could be “very costly’’.
He advised parents against withdrawing students from schools over current security challenges, noting that education had no alternative since it was the bedrock of any nation. (NAN)
