By Ebuanekpe Joy
The Edo State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) in partnership with the World Bank, has brought together community leaders and school based management committee (SBMC) to deliberate on the Violence Against Learners Response System (VALRS) and the Grievance Redress Mechanism (GRM).
Reaffirming the Board’s commitment to strengthening GRM across basic schools in Edo State, the SUBEB functioning Chairman, Hon. Sonia Ebanehita, represented by the Board Secretary, Mrs. Ada Oluku, assured the World Bank’s GBV consultant, Dr. Asmau Leo of robust partnership on making schools more conducive and convenient for learners. Edo SUBEB pledged to continue community consultations aimed towards refining and expanding GBV response initiatives, ensuring that every learner can pursue their education in a safe and supportive environment.
At the event, Dr. Leo delivered a presentation on the various forms of GBV to include physical, emotional, sexual, and economical. She urged community leaders to establish clear, sensitive reporting mechanisms on GBV cases, emphasizing that boys and men could also be victims of GBV, and called for comprehensive awareness campaigns to ensure that survivors feel empowered to report incidents.
Following the stakeholders’ engagement, the World Bank delegation visited the Itohan Girls’ Grammar School, where pupils were part of interactive sessions on understanding their rights and what constitute GBV; and identifying safe channels for reporting GBV cases. Teachers received strategic training on implementing a confidential, school‑based reporting system and responding promptly to disclosures.
The engagements continued with a tour of the Edo State Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC). Dr. Leo and the SUBEB Team were guided through the Centre’s counseling, medical, and legal support departments to gain insights of the multidisciplinary care available to survivors. Expressing satisfaction, Dr. Leo stated that the reason for coming was to access the success so far recorded in the reportage of GBV cases concerning adults and girls in schools in the State and to see how it could be refined and used to model other states. She concluded that projects conceived without genuine community inputs are unlikely to succeed.
The stakeholders’ engagement, which commenced at Oluku School Community underscored the critical role of consultation and community participation in combating GBV in schools and host communities across Edo State.
