Public secondary schools in Nigeria's
northeast Borno state have been closed indefinitely following deadly
attacks blamed on Boko Haram Islamists, teachers and parents said
Saturday.
The closure reportedly affects 85 secondary
schools, catering to some 120,000 students across the troubled state, a
stronghold of the militant sect waging a five year insurgency in
Nigeria.
The murderous group, whose name means "Western
education is sinful" in the Hausa language, has vowed to stop children
attending school.
"We reported to school on Friday last
week (March 14) but to our shock the principal of the school told us he
had received orders from the ministry of education to close down the
school indefinitely," teacher Suleiman Gana told AFP.
"He
(the principal) told us the decision affects all public secondary
schools in the state and was taken as a precautionary measure to
safeguard lives of teachers and students from Boko Haram attacks," Gana
said.
A Borno state official confirmed the closure of the schools to AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Deadly
attacks blamed on Boko Haram have intensified since the turn of the
year, with some 700 killed in more than 40 attacks in 2014 according to
Human Rights Watch, making it one of the bloodiest years since the
insurgency began in 2009.
In the restive northeast,
tens of thousands have fled for their lives, either in fear of further
attacks or after militants razed their homes and businesses.
A
wave of attacks on education targets, including the slaughter of
boarding school students in their beds while they slept, has prompted
international condemnation.
'Caving in to Boko Haram'
Late
last month, 43 students were shot and hacked to death when suspected
Boko Haram gunmen stormed the Federal Government College in Buni Yadi,
in nearby Yobe state.
On March 14, Boko Haram Islamists
attacked a military base in Borno state capital Maiduguri and freed
dozens of insurgents from custody -- after opening fire in a residential
neighbourhood and razing homes according to witnesses.
Some public schools in the northern part of Borno have been closed for over two years due to fears of attacks.
The
state commissioner for education had already ordered schools in
Konduga, Bama, Mafa, Dikwa and Damboa towns -- where Boko Haram has
launched several deadly raids -- to relocate their students to safer
schools in Maiduguri.
But Buji Mallum, whose son
attends the now shut Mafoni secondary school in Maiduguri, said shutting
schools would only embolden Boko Haram to continue attacks.
"My
child came back from school unusually early last week Friday and he
told me that government had asked all (public) secondary schools in
Borno state to be shut," the 65-year-old said.
"We all
appreciate the security situation but for (the) government to cave in to
Boko Haram's pressure and close down schools is indeed shocking and
saddening to every parent."
Nigeria recently shut five
government colleges in the country's restive northeast in the wake of
deadly attacks on schools in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states, which are
all under a state of emergency.
Last year, Borno state
Governor Kashim Shettima said more than 800 blocks of classrooms were
burnt by Islamists, some more than twice.
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