The University of Aberdeen, United Kingdom, has commenced training for 160 teachers on achieving and maintaining peace and security strategies in Kwara State schools, as reported by Punch.

Dr. Manu Lekunze, a lecturer in the Department of Politics and International Relations at Aberdeen University, disclosed this while speaking at a Stakeholders’ Engagement/launch of the Education for Peace and Security Strategy in Kwara State, which began in Ilorin, the state capital, on Wednesday.

The program was organized by the office of the First Lady of Kwara State in collaboration with the state Ministry of Education and Human Capital Development.

Speaking in an interview with Arewa PUNCH on Thursday, Lekunze said stressed that the training was part of the partnership the university had with the Kwara State Government on how to achieve peace and security in all the schools, including primary, secondary and Tertiary institutions in the state.

According to him,”160 Teachers would be trained out of which 80 Teachers were already undergoing their training as of yesterday (Thursday) while another batch of 80 teachers will start their training on Friday.”

The lecturer, while emphasising the importance of peace and security in society observed that the understanding between the government and the university was to use education to shore up security in the state.

“The point is with education, you can create the right type of people, create the right type of value that will contribute to peace which will lead to prosperity in the society,” he said.

Further clarifying the varsity’s understanding with the state government, Lekunze explained that the university would provide technical assistance in the form of training for the teachers who would in turn pass the knowledge to the students for implementation on the field.

“We believe that education is the foundation of both the value and knowledge that the people need to live peacefully in the society. We have conducted the research and it is of no use when we keep this knowledge in books, the research becomes more impactful when we take it to the people for implementation.

“When we train the teachers, they would take the knowledge to the students on a daily basis,” he pointed out.

In her address, the Kwara State Commissioner for Education and Human Capital Development, Hajia Sa’adatu Modibbo-Kawu noted that “the Stakeholders’ Engagement and Launch of Education For Peace & Security Strategy in the state was coming at the right time because no society can witness the forms of development that it envisaged without building enduring peace and security.”

She added, “It is very forward-looking to start such a process with and amongst the young people of our communities and state because it is the young people, our students, and learners, who will inherit and build the future of our dear state,” she maintained.

Modibbo-Kawu disclosed that the state ministry of Education had taken the challenge of promoting peace among the youth in line with the vision of the governor and also appreciated the commitment of Professor, Olufolake AbdulRazaq, the First Lady of the state in all human endeavours.

“For those of us working in the education sector, we have taken up the challenge of providing the platform for our children and learners to become advocates for peace and security in our state. This is possible because of the grand vision of His Excellency, Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, whose commitment and support have transformed the educational sector for the better in Kwara State.

“Today, our school has put up a short playlet that emphasises the importance of peacebuilding as part of the overall effort to achieve lasting security in order to deepen development in our communities.

“The grand lesson here is that we must nurture the peace; we must consciously build peaceful communities; and we have to ensure collaboration between individuals in society, in schools, in places of work, to deepen the values of peace and peaceful co-existence in our dear state”, she declared.