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.

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.

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:

1. Establish clear reporting channels: Anonymous suggestion boxes, trusted staff liaisons, digital apps.
2. Set the tone from the top: Leadership must transparently address bullying cases.
3. 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.

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."

Powered by Froala Editor