NAN-H-50
School
By Olayinka Olawale
Lagos, Nov. 14, 2016 (NAN) Mr Tope Yusuf, Sole Administrator, Coker-Aguda Local Council Development Area, Lagos, on Monday said that members of the Neighborhood Watch had been drafted to provide security at public schools within the council.
Neighborhood Watch is said to be one of the oldest and effective crime prevention programmes in the country, bringing citizens together with law enforcement to deter criminals and educate residents of a community on security and safety.
Yusuf told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos that the strategy was also part of the council’s monitoring policy to check indiscipline in schools.
He said that students should not be found roaming the streets during school hours, adding that any student found would be sanctioned.
“There is a new policy in the state now; it is called “Neighborhood Corps Agency’’.
“It consists of school leaving certificate holders and graduates who are employed by the state government to work as security guards within the communities.
“They will be paid about N25,000 and above according to their qualifications and will be given patrol vans, motorcycles to move around the state.
“But as at now, our policy in Coker-Aguda is that all Neighborhood Watch should be the security guards in public schools.
“When you go to public schools, you will see them in gray uniforms, they are there to ensure safety and normalcy in schools.
“Why we put them there is to ensure that students stay in schools; and if you move around during school hours, you will not find any students roaming the street.
“With this strategy, you cannot find students on the streets in Coker-Aguda because I have ensured that the coordinator of the group post members to different schools.
Yusuf said that the new strategy was the best way to keep the students in school.
“We think we can make the students to stay in schools with the support of external people because if we ask the schools to use their security men, it may not be effective.
“Some of the schools’ guards are retirees and do not have the zeal to do more.
“The old men can be easily induced with gift or cash items, but the Neighborhood Watch members are changed regularly, so the students will find it difficult to bribe them,’’ he said.
He added that the council would continue to do its best to sustain the monitoring of schools and ensure that students stayed in school for their lessons. (NAN)
OOG/ENN/PDE
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(Edited by Edwin Nwachukwu/Peter Ejiofor)