Lagos moves to deepen safety in schools

The Lagos State government has introduced Safe School Lagos (SSLAG), an initiative aimed at preventing a repeat of the unfortunate incident that led to the controversial death of Sylvester Oromoni, a 12-year-old student of Dowen College.

The initiative, according to the government, is a proactive measure to check bullying, cultism, auto accidents and related incidents in public and private schools in Lagos.

Folashade Adefisayo, the state commissioner for education, at a workshop organised by the Lagos State Safety Commission (LSSC), tagged: “School Safety Initiatives Workshop,” on Monday, said the government was identifying schools on major roads that are prone to auto crash and taking measures to ensure the safety of students and staff.

Represented by Abayomi Abolaji, the permanent secretary of the ministry of education, the commissioner said schools along highways would have speed breakers and traffic lights while officers like Neighborhood Watchers, Federal Road Safety Corps, Lagos Safety Commission would be engaged to ameliorate the situation.

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On his part, Lanre Mojola, the director-general of LSSC, explained the essence of the safe school initiative. He said it was to ensure a safe school environment and encourage students to cohabit in a conducive atmosphere.

“Safer schools produce safer children and safer children are the bedrock of the future. So what we shall be doing is to meet school operators and engage them on how we can make safety the fulcrum of the curriculum within the schools.

How can we ensure that teachers teach basic principles of safety and to ensure children interact in a safe environment. Safety begins with you and zero accident is possible if we all work together and in a safe environment,” the DG said.

He noted that safety measures were important to ensure physical safety, disease control, discourage bullying and alcohol abuse, and train school owners on how to ensure that the schools are safe.