By Uzair Adam
The Kano State Government has pledged to take firm action against any teacher or school staff member found guilty of sexually harassing students, warning that such offenders will face legal prosecution.
This was disclosed on Tuesday by the Senior Special Assistant to Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf on Student Matters, Ibrahim Ma’ajiyi Sumaila, at a high-level stakeholders meeting organized by the Centre for Awareness on Justice and Accountability (CAJA).
The event aimed to address the growing concern of sexual harassment in educational institutions.“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,” Sumaila declared.
He also assured full government support to NGOs championing advocacy and reform in the education sector.
The meeting, which included students, legal experts, journalists, and civil society groups, marked the launch of a six-month project by CAJA focused on curbing sexual harassment through strategic institutional policy-making.
Kabiru Sa’id Dakata, CAJA’s Executive Director, explained that the initiative aims to develop clear, stand-alone policies for tertiary and secondary schools, noting that many institutions either lack such policies or bury them in vague student handbooks.
“We spent three years pushing for a national law on sexual harassment—it’s a slow process. Now, we are pursuing individual institutions to adopt clearer policies,” he said.
Dakata pointed out that many victims suffer in silence, with some dropping out or failing academically for resisting the advances of predatory lecturers.
“Students often don’t even know where to report these incidents. That’s a failure of the system,” he added.
Delivering a paper on the topic, Barrister Maryam Ahmad Abubakar defined sexual harassment as any unwanted verbal, physical, or psychological behavior of a sexual nature that disrupts the learning environment.
She reiterated the importance of education, moral guidance, and religious teachings in tackling the issue.
Among the strategies proposed were enforcing strict penalties, adjusting admission and employment ages, and incorporating moral instruction into general studies curricula.
Supported by the Nigerian Women’s Trust Fund and other partners, CAJA also plans to empower survivors as advocates, conduct outreach in selected schools, and produce awareness materials to amplify the campaign.