Federal and state administrations are increasing security in schools across the country before the 2026/27 session begins on Monday.
The aim is to protect students, instructors and property from any attack by terrorists, says The Nation.
In a statement yesterday, the Federal Ministry of Education said the necessary security services had been activated for increased vigilance, particularly around unification colleges and their immediate surrounds.
The Lagos and Sokoto state governments are also taking precautions to secure schools and pupils.
Similarly, the Oyo State Police Command is collaborating with the Police Community Relations Committee (PCRC) to ensure safer and secured learning environment across the state following the May 15, 2026 bandits attack on Baptist Nursery and Primary School in Yawota, Community Grammar School in Esiele, and L.A. Primary School all in Oriire Local Government area of the state.
The education minister said the safety and wellness of students and staff remained key to the federal government’s commitment to creating a safe, secure and conducive environment for teaching and learning.
“The Federal Ministry of Education has again said all Federal Unity Colleges across the country will reopen on Monday, September 14, 2026 as planned, assuring students, parents, guardians and other stakeholders that all necessary arrangements have been put in place to ensure a safe, smooth and seamless commencement of the new academic session,” the ministry said yesterday.
It said the coordinated actions including various security authorities were to safeguard kids, staff and school communities when academic activities restart all over the country.
The minister said parents and guardians should remain calm, rely on official information and continue to prepare their children and wards to return to their respective federal unity colleges. The statement was signed by the Director, Press and Public Relations, Federal Ministry of Education, Boriowo Folasade.
He also asked the school administrators to liaise closely with the relevant security agencies and other necessary authorities to ensure orderly and secure reopening.
LASG Steps Up Safety Measures As Schools Reopen
The Lagos State Commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education, Jamiu Alli-Balogun, has said the state government has ramped up safety and security measures in schools as pupils and students prepare to restart for the 2026/2027 academic session.
But the commissioner cautioned the residents to stay alert.
Alli-Balogun said the government was concerned about the safety and wellness of children and invited other stakeholders to join hands with the government to ensure safety, health and wellbeing of learners, teachers and others a communal duty.
He urged parents, kids, students, instructors, administrators and other stakeholders to report any security concern, hazardous circumstances, damaged facilities and health-related issues to relevant authorities immediately.
The commissioner urged schools to keep clean and conducive learning environments, including operational water supply systems and sanitation and hygiene facilities, to protect learners and staff of schools.
He said the new session provides an opportunity to further improve the growth of learning, discipline, character, creativity and excellence in all schools via shared commitment and collaborative responsibility.
Alli-Balogun encouraged the learners to always keep personal hygiene, prevent littering, wash hands frequently, exercise good respiratory hygiene and dispose of waste correctly.
He told school children not to share personal goods, and urged schools to make sure classrooms were well ventilated and that frequently touched surfaces were cleaned regularly.
‘Teachers, administrators and non-teaching staff are expected to lead by example, to maintain high standards of personal hygiene, environmental cleanliness and safety,’ he said.
The government stated its model colleges are likely to reopen tomorrow.
The official advised school communities to work with school leaders and to report any situations that may put the safety or wellbeing of learners and school personnel at risk.
Insecurity: Sokoto yet to re-open schools in affected regions
The Sokoto State Government said the security situation in some regions of the state would not enable resumption of studies in such areas for now.
But the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education says the new term will start on Monday.
Schools that were already shuttered due to insecurity would continue to be closed until the government decides it is safe for them to reopen, it added.
The boarding schools would restart on Sunday, September 13 while the academic activities in all public and private schools would start on Monday.
It called on parents, guardians, School-Based Management Committees and Parents-Teachers Associations to facilitate the timely and smooth return of pupils.
Teachers were also asked to start academic activities immediately after resumption.
“The ministry’s inspectors will carry out monitoring visits to schools across the state to ascertain compliance with the approved resumption schedule and to ensure that academic activities begin as scheduled,” the statement stated.
The Commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education, Prof. Ahmad Ladan Ala, has asked the heads of parastatals and agencies under the ministry to watch the restart and ensure that the new academic session starts without hitches.
PCRC joins police for safer schools in Oyo
The introduction of the Safe School Initiative in Oyo State yesterday, which coincided with the 42nd Anniversary of the Police Community Relations Committee (PCRC) in the state, is part of the Command’s renewed commitment to boosting school safety across the state.
The Safe School initiative was aimed at strengthening security around the schools through increased police visibility, protection of pupils, students, teachers and other school personnel, protection of school infrastructure, improved community-based intelligence gathering and prompt response to emerging security threats, Ayanlade Olayinka, spokesman for the command, said.
He said the command was also intensifying engagement with the PCRC Safe School Club, school proprietors, administrators, Parent Teachers Associations (PTAs), parents and kids.
These activities are geared toward building a collaborative security framework for the early discovery, reporting and prevention of threats inside and around schools’, he said.
“The sustainable safety of schools is a collective responsibility, the Oyo State Police Command believes.
“So continuous engagement with interested parties is still key in identifying security concerns and strengthening preventive measures and ensuring that credible information gets to the Police early enough for appropriate intervention.
“Personnel deployed for school protection have been directed to be vigilant, maintain close contact with school communities and respond immediately to credible security information.
“The Command will continue to use intelligence-led policing, strategic community engagement and proactive security measures to anticipate and prevent threats to schools and their occupants.
“In this connection, school owners, managers, teachers, parents, students and members of the public are advised to be security conscious and to promptly report any suspicious individuals, vehicles, movements or activities around schools.
The Command especially reminds everyone to “SEE SOMETHING, SAY SOMETHING.”
“The Police can receive the actionable intelligence to prevent security incidents happening by early reporting of suspicious activities.
“The Oyo State Police Command assures the public that it will continue to work closely with the PCRC and other stakeholders in ensuring a safe, secure and conducive environment for learning across the state.
Some 48 students and teachers were kidnaped during the May incident in Oriire LGA.
The terrorists killed one of the abducted instructors to press their demand for the release of several terrorists in jail. The government did not heed their pleas.
The rest of the abductees were released on July 10 after 56 days in captivity.
On the nite of 14-15 April 2014, Boko Haram raided the Government Girls Secondary School in Chibok, Borno State, taking more than a hundred pupils and subsequently marrying several of them off to the fighters.
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