By Felix Kuyinu
The Lagos State Government has held a delegation to enhance awareness on cyber safety to school children.
In collaboration with the Nigerian Communications Commission, the state organized a seminar tagged “Building a Strong Cyber Safety Awareness in Schools”, where over 500 students were tutored on the significance of cyber safety.
The pupils alongside parents and teachers were informed on some alarming statistics. The state disclosed that over 87% cases of sexual abuse have been commited through the use of the internet.
In addition, 56% of 10-16 year olds have encountered explicit materials online, alongside 34% of children been exposed to harmful and violent content.
Furthermore, 33% of young people have reported experienced cyberbullying.
The government hammered on the crucial need to comprehensively sensitize on cyber safety education and fashion out proactive measures to protect the young children further being victims of the anomaly.
Some of the recommendations to combat the unwanted situation include establishing robust governance and implementation of frameworks to ensure effective cyber safety measures.
The involvement of relevant bodies including parents, educators and tech companies was also discussed. According to the state government, enforcing existing laws to prosecute eering individuals will protect children from online threats.
The pupils were also advised to practice safe internet use. The parents were enjoined to make sure their children are put through on discarding harmful platforms while using the internet.
