The Digest:
A stark investigation has revealed that at least 188 public schools have been abandoned or closed across Northern Nigeria due to escalating insecurity, creating an educational crisis for thousands of children. The closures, driven by bandit attacks and mass displacement, are deepening illiteracy and threatening to lock a generation into a cycle of poverty and violence.
Key Points:
- At least 188 public schools are confirmed to be shut across several northern states.
- Zamfara has 39 closed schools, Niger has 30, and Katsina has 52, among others.
- Many shuttered schools have been converted into camps for security forces or shelters for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).
- The situation exacerbates Nigeria's out-of-school children crisis, already one of the worst globally.
- In some areas, bandits have taken over school buildings as operational bases.
- UNICEF warns that each year of lost schooling increases risks of violence and poverty.
- Security experts caution that mass school closures could fuel future criminality.
Sources: Daily Trust
