The Kano State Government has said that any teacher or member of the school staff found guilty of sexually harassing kids would be subject to the full force of the law and has promised to take swift action against them.
Ibrahim Sumaila, Governor Abba Yusuf’s Senior Special Assistant on Student Matters, made this announcement to reporters on Wednesday.
“The SSA commented on a high-level stakeholders meeting on ways to address the alarming prevalence of sexual harassment in educational institutions, which was organised by the Centre for Awareness on Justice and Accountability,” the statement said.
“As an Islamic state, Kano will not fold its arms and watch our daughters suffer abuse and humiliation. Any teacher who dares to violate a student will be flushed out and prosecuted without delay,” he said.
Sumaila stated that NGOs spearheading sector advocacy and change had the backing of the state government.
A six-month effort by CAJA to reduce sexual harassment through strategic policy-making at the institutional level was launched during the event, which included media professionals and students.
The effort, according to CAJA Executive Director Kabiru Dakata, is aimed at creating internal rules at secondary and tertiary educational institutions. He emphasised that the majority of these institutions either lack a clear sexual harassment policy or cover such matters in ambiguous student handbooks.
“We worked for three years pushing for a national law on sexual harassment, but it’s a tedious process.
“Now, we are going for the low-hanging fruit—pushing individual institutions to adopt clear, stand-alone policies,” Dakata said.
He lamented that many victims suffer in silence, with some dropping out or failing courses because they refuse to yield to the demands of predatory lecturers.
“Students don’t even know where to report or who to turn to when harassed. That’s a failure of the system,” he added.
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In her paper on sexual harassment in academic settings, Barrister Maryam Ahmad Abubakar said the act is any unwanted sexual behaviour—verbal, physical, or psychological—that creates a hostile learning environment.
She emphasised the importance of teaching students and staff about boundaries and the role that moral and religious teachings play in lowering the number of cases of sexual harassment.
Some of the strategies that were suggested included strict penalties, revisions to admission and employment ages, and the inclusion of moral instruction in general studies curricula.
CAJA, with support from the Nigerian Women’s Trust Fund and other partners, also plans to empower survivors as advocates, conduct advocacy in selected schools, and produce campaign materials to raise awareness.
