Over 2, 295 teachers have been killed and 19, 000 displaced in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa in nine years, Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu, has said.

The minister said 1, 500 schools have been destroyed by Boko Haram since 2014.

According to him, this has resulted in 1, 280 casualties among teachers and students.

This, he explained, has contributed to the number of out-of-school children in the country.

The minister said: “The greatest challenge of the out-of-school, phenomenon in recent years has been the problem of insurgency. Since the inception of the insurgency in the North-East, education has been under constant and system attack resulting in the killing of both learners and teachers and destruction of education facilities.

“Over 2,295 teachers have been killed and 19, 000 displaced in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states in the last nine years. An estimated 1,500 schools have been destroyed since 2014, with over 1, 280 casualties among teachers and students.

“This crisis has further devastated the education system as children, teachers and schools are in the frontline of the conflict.”

To address this, the minister said the Federal Ministry of Education, in collaboration with UNESCO, UNICEF, NGOs, State Directors of Policy, Research and Statistics in the six geo-political zones formulated a policy on Violence Free School for Children in Nigeria to create zero tolerance national culture towards Violence Against Children in education.

“The policy will also promote a learning environment where children are respected, protected and empowered. The policy has been developed, critiqued and is undergoing final statutory processes before distribution to all stakeholders for immediate implementation,” he added.

TheNation