The Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD) has raised an alarm over an increasing rate of sexual abuse in exchange for grades in schools and called for collaborative efforts to curb the menace.
The organization said the academic dishonesty targeted at exploiting female students in exchange for good grades is unacceptable.
The Gender Technical Officer of the Center, Zainab Aminu, made this known while addressing newsmen on the reported cases of Gender-Based Violence received through the Center’s mobile GBV application in May 2022.
The Gender Technical Officer, represented by the Monitoring and Evaluation Assistant of the Centre, Fatima Baba-Kura said the center received a disturbing complaint perceived to be sexual harassment from Aminu Kano College of Islamic and Legal Studies where a lecturer failed students based on personal reservations.
Zainab revealed that while monitoring, “we received an anonymous tip as follows, “Assalamu alaikum, my report is based on school violence, at Aminu Kano College of Islamic and Legal Studies, between a lecturer and students. The students passed their exam successfully but the lecturer held their results and gave them carry over for some reasons”.
Expressing dismay over the development, Zainab said that the incident shows that violence in schools needs to be given special attention.
She calls on school authorities to constitute a team of observers that will monitor and report cases of gender-based violence.
She also calls on teachers/lecturers to uphold their duty towards the students in their care, adding that “as a teacher, you need to protect your students from any harm not to violate their rights”.
“While we continue to monitor, we will like to appeal to parents, relatives and others to always report cases to the various authorities concerned or directly to us or to other sister NGOs as well as to government agencies such as National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), National Orientation Agency (NOA), Nigerian Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC), National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking In Persons (NAPTIP) or Hisbah”.
