Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Hassan Abubakar, has warned Commandants of NAF schools that acts leading to injury or death of students will not be condoned.
The CAS said his utmost concern remains the safety, well-being and academic excellence of all students of Air Force comprehensive and secondary schools nationwide, and any attempt to infringe on such priorities will not be tolerated.
In a statement by the director of Public Relations and Information, Air Vice Marshal Edward Gabkwet, Abubakar, gave the warning recently while interacting with the commandant and some staff of Air Force Comprehensive School, Iyana-Offa in Ibadan, Oyo State.
The Air Chief reiterated that any act of negligence on the part of commandants, staff or instructors in charge of NAF schools nationwide that leads to injury or threat to the life of any student would not be tolerated.
He said, “It is your responsibility to follow the guidelines laid down and other means of identifying red flags that may indicate gaps or lapses within your school environments to forestall avoidable incidents or tragedies. I will not condone any act that would lead to injuries or the death of any of our students.”
The CAS also stressed that the NAF remains dedicated and committed to providing a conducive learning environment, ensuring students’ overall development, and empowering them to reach their full potential.
He called on commandants and staff of NAF schools to always ensure they prioritise the students‘ interests over all other interests.
Air Marshal Abubakar stated that NAF‘s investment in education is a vital aspect of its welfare package, which aims to support the families of personnel and civilians while contributing to the nation‘s human capital development.
It is also part of its soft power strategy aimed at endearing it to the populace and enabling it to engage with the civil populace by providing affordable and qualitative education for their wards.
While at Iyana-Offa, the CAS inspected ongoing renovation works at the students‘ hostels and classrooms as part of a wider phased School Intervention Strategy embarked upon to holistically renovate, upgrade and carry out repairs in NAF schools across Nigeria.
The NAF currently runs 13 nationwide secondary schools consisting of 9 boarding and four day schools with a total strength of 11,177 students and 21 primary schools spread across the country with 13,758 pupils. Its oldest secondary school, Air Force Military School, Jos, was established in 1980, while its oldest primary school, Air Force Primary School, Ikeja, was established in 1976. The NAF is building additional schools at NAF Bases located at Abuja, Bauchi, Kaduna and Igbara-Oke in Osun State, all expected to come on stream by September 2024.