The Chairman of House Representatives Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Akin Rotimi, has urged teachers to be at the frontline in the fight against gender-based violence.
The National Assembly member representing Ekiti North Federal Constituency 1 said “GBV is a big issue in society, and it is important that we enlist teachers as frontline advocates.
“They (teachers) are the ones that spend a lot of time with the children. They are the ones that can spot children that are visibly disturbed and make teaching around preventing GBV within our schools.”
Rotimi spoke at Oye Ekiti on Saturday during a two-day training workshop with the theme, ‘Strengthening Foundations of Practice’, which he organised for teachers in his constituency in conjunction with NurtureHouse Consulting.
No fewer than 200 teachers in the constituency benefitted from the training workshop on modern teaching techniques.
Rotimi stressed the importance of teachers as critical stakeholders in the development of the future generation, adding, “It is important to equip teachers to be more effective and efficient.”
The lawmaker said that he would consult critical stakeholders on the need to establish a special school in his constituency, saying, “I think it’s desirable for a constituency that has 450,000 constituents without a single special school. I think we need one.”
The federal lawmaker condemned the killing of a 200-level Nursing student of the Federal University, Oye Ekiti, Modupe Atanda, demanding that she should get justice.
He said, “It’s a dastardly act, and a very sad one. There is what we call a safe space where such should never happen, and the school environment is one of them. It’s a very sad development and worrisome.
“Modupe Atanda Deborah should get justice and the perpetrators brought to book. We should be able to ensure that we would never have such an occurrence. I condemn it and it’s deeply distressing and very sad.
“I stand by the Students’ Union Government and other stakeholders, as well as the family to extend my deepest condolences and to call again the authorities to ensure that this never happens again.”
