Building tomorrow's schools: key takeaways from the 2025 safe boarding schools conference
Building tomorrow's schools: key takeaways from the 2025 safe boarding schools conference
Saturday, August 2nd, 2025 marked a turning point in conversations about school safety in Nigeria, Africa and beyond. Educators, administrators, parents, and advocates gathered virtually to talk about and address one critical question: "How do we build schools where every child can thrive without fear?"
The answer isn't that simple, but it's an urgent one. Recent incidents across Nigerian boarding schools have highlighted a crisis that extends far beyond individual institutions. This conference brought together four powerful voices, each offering a piece of the solution puzzle.
The Foundation: Understanding Child Rights in Education
Keren Somina, humanitarian, mentor & coach for children and teens and a child rights advocate, opened with a sobering reality check. While the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child exists, its implementation in boarding schools remains inconsistent across Africa.
Her key insight? "Children cannot claim rights they don't know they have." Schools must move beyond policy documents to active rights education, creating feedback systems where students can speak up without fear of retaliation.
Takeaway: Every school needs digital platforms where students can anonymously report concerns, and parents must demand to see hostel facilities before enrollment.
The Reality Check: When Mission Statements Fail Students
ChiDinma Nmaele-Afamn, founder of Teach With Ease, shared her personal boarding school trauma with unflinching honesty. Her message cut straight to the heart of institutional hypocrisy.
"Your school's mission statement means nothing if it doesn't show in your students' lives," she declared, sharing stories of violence normalized as discipline.
Dinma identified three non-negotiable reforms that boarding students universally demand:
- Good, sufficient food: No child should go hungry or be forced to eat inadequate meals.
- Clean, safe restrooms: Basic sanitation prevents disease and preserves dignity.
- Zero tolerance for bullying: Starting with leadership and trickling down to students.
Reality Check: Schools are remembered not for their beautiful mission statements, but for how their graduates behave in the world.
The Action Plan: Stopping Bullying Before It Starts
Victor Haruna, educator, guidance & counsellor and anti-bullying specialist, presented stark statistics: over 70% of Nigerian students experience bullying during their school years. His organization, Vodasat Global Services Limited (VGS), has developed practical frameworks that schools can implement immediately.
His three-step emergency protocol for school leaders:
- Establish clear reporting channels: Anonymous suggestion boxes, trusted staff liaisons, digital apps.
- Set the tone from the top: Leadership must transparently address bullying cases.
- Conduct regular safety audits: Include administrators, student leaders, and house masters in 72-hour review cycles.
The Deeper Solution: Introducing Compassion Economics
Perhaps the most groundbreaking presentation came from Mpumelelo Mpofu, who introduced "Compassion Economics", treating compassion as a finite resource that institutions must actively manage and replenish.
"We've created an unbroken chain of trauma spanning generations," Mpofu explained. "Yesterday's victims become today's perpetrators because they're operating from compassion bankruptcy."
His framework identifies three states:
- Compassion Leakage: Small, daily erosions of empathy.
- Compassion Drainage: Conscious harm that depletes emotional resources.
- Compassion Bankruptcy: Complete institutional failure that creates lasting trauma.
Critical Insight: Many African leaders, educated in violence-normalized boarding schools, unconsciously perpetuate authoritarian structures that stifle innovation and compassion.
The Technology Bridge: Where Innovation Meets Compassion
Throughout the discussions, one theme emerged: technology alone cannot solve these deeply human problems, but it can provide crucial infrastructure for change.
Stvdi, the community-driven platform who were part of the supporters of this conference, represents a new approach - technology built by educators who understand that school management must serve human flourishing, not just administrative efficiency.
What Happens Next: Building the Movement
This conference was just the beginning. The real work starts in individual schools, with individual decisions by administrators, teachers, and parents who refuse to accept "that's just how things are."
Join the Ongoing Conversation
The conference may be over, but the discussions continue. Connect with fellow educators, and advocates share resources, opinions, experiences and collaborate on solutions.
WhatsApp Community Link:
The November Follow-Up
Mark your calendars: November 1st, 2025 - A practical, action-focused follow-up conference designed to equip school leaders with tools to implement these insights.
This won't be another talking session. We're bringing concrete training, implementation guides, and partnership opportunities.
Ready to Transform Your School?
Whether you're a school administrator, teacher, or parent, the time for change is now. Every child deserves an education free from fear.
Stay tuned: This week, we'll be diving deeper into each speaker's insights with detailed individual posts. Each will offer practical knowledge you can implement in your educational community.
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Building a legacy of change: the 2025 safe boarding schools conference
School should feel safe for every child.
Yet across Nigeria, recent headlines and quiet whispers tell us otherwise, stories of bullying, neglect, abuse, and a lack of accountability in boarding schools. This is a reality we can no longer ignore.
That's why the 2025 Safe Boarding Schools Conference is coming at just the right time, bringing together boarding school leadership, parents, policymakers, and advocates to have the hard conversations that drive real change.
This event will be held virtually on Zoom on Saturday, August 2, 2025, at 10:00 am GMT+1. This conference carries a strong message under its theme: "Building a Legacy of Change." The goal? To rethink how our boarding schools operate and build a future where safety, dignity, and care are at the heart of education.
Why This Conference Matters
From outdated discipline policies to a lack of staff training and poor enforcement of child rights, the problems are layered. But so are the solutions.
This event brings together four powerful voices who will speak and discuss across six key focus areas:
- Dinma Nmaele-Afam, founder of TeachWithEase and Host of the 2025 Safe Boarding Schools Conference, will speak on Vision, Mission and School Reforms. Her story reminds us why these matters — a survivor of school violence herself, Dinma, nearly lost her vision when flogged by a senior student. She couldn't speak up, and when justice came, she faced stigma. Today, her experience fuels her passion to protect the next generation.
- Keren Somina, a passionate Teen Coach and Mentor, will lead the conversation on Child Rights in Boarding School, breaking down what schools must do and actions to be taken to create environments where children are heard, protected, and empowered.
- Victor Haruna, founder of Vodasat Global Services Limited (VGS) and as session Moderator, will unpack the issue of Bullying and Abuse in Boarding Schools, opening space for honest reflection and dialogue.
- Mpumelelo Mpofu, a Compassion Economics Pioneer, will lead the session on Violence in Circles and Compassion in Discipline, helping school leaders think about policies, onboarding, and systems that promote transparency and care.
Supported by Stvdi & VGS
This important event is proudly supported by Stvdi, a growing platform focused on using technology to make education safer, more connected, and more effective. As a tech partner and awareness collaborator, Stvdi stands with educators and advocates across Nigeria and beyond, exploring how technology can support the reforms we desperately need.
Stvdi is getting involved to explore ways to mitigate these challenges technologically and join the movement for reform. Building safer schools requires both human compassion and smart innovation.
A better boarding school system in Nigeria isn't just a dream, it's something we can build together. The 2025 Safe Boarding Schools Conference is more than a conversation; it's a first step toward action.
Whether you're a parent, teacher, administrator, policymaker, or just someone who cares, this is your moment to show up.
Join us on August 2nd, 2025. Let's build a legacy of change.
REGISTER NOWReady to be part of the solution? Secure your spot at the 2025 Safe Boarding Schools Conference.
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