According to her, the agency deemed it expedient to have this roundtable meeting, which is a two-day programme, to conduct a postpartum assessment of these different cases, understand the trends, understand lessons that could learn and forge a way forward from a more preventive lens.
”So that it is not until these cases happen, that we have to respond and it is important that we learn from our mistakes or errors, or from history, from the past, with a view to knowing the way forward in issues that pertain to safeguarding and child protection in schools,” she said.
She said that findings during the visitations revealed that there was no level of awareness about the existence of the Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy in schools.
Vivour-Adeniyi said there was a low level of awareness about support services that schools could take advantage of, with the unfortunate instance, that disclosure of safeguarding and child protection is made.
Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Ministry of Youth and Social Development, Mrs Toyin Oke- Osanyintolu, said that many school children were vulnerable to abuses, hence, they required protection.
Oke-Osanyintolu, who was represented by the Director, Social Welfare, of the ministry, Mrs Toyin Jaiyeola said that there was the need to review existing policies and fashion out new strategies to help protect children of school age, among others.
Director-General, Office of Education Quality Assurance (OEQA), Mrs Abiola Seriki-Ayeni, stated that ensuring implementation of the Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy in schools should be a joint effort, of different ministries and agencies.
According to her, the “truth of the matter is children are dying, the truth of the matter is children are not safe.”
