Activist lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN) has urged the National Assembly to stop paying lip service to education Nigerian children under the U...
Activist lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN) has urged the National Assembly to stop paying lip service to education Nigerian children under the Universal Basic Education (UBE) programme in the country.
Falana described as embarrassing the resolution unanimously passed on Thursday by members of the House of Representatives and the Senate which urged the Federal Ministry of Education to drastically reduce the number of out-of-school girls by ensuring compulsory free education for all girls across the country.
The activist lawyer therefore urged the National Assembly to ensure the amendment of the constitution to empower the Accountant-General of the Federation to deduct from source the counterpart fund payable by every state government to the Universal Basic Education Fund.
Falana’s advice was sequel to the adoption of a motion by Rep. Kafilat Ogbara (APC-Lagos) in commemoration of the 2023 International Day of the Girl Child.
Hon, Ogbara had said that the last survey by UNICEF revealed that 18.5 million children were out of school in Nigeria, 60 per cent of which were girls. While insisting that adolescent girls have the right to a safe, educated and healthy life, Hon Ogbara said that investing in girls’ leadership included creating space and platforms for girls to raise their voices at every policy-making level.
Falana also noted that at about the same time, “the Senate passed for first reading of a bill that recommends a fine of N50,000 to parents who default in providing their children with primary and secondary school education.
“The bill proposed by Senator Orji Kalu seeks to amend section (4) (b) of the Principal Act by deleting N2,000 and inserting N20,000; section (4) (c) of the Principal Act by deleting N5,000 and inserting N50,000 while section 3(2) of the Principal Act is amended by deleting N10,000 and inserting N100,000."
Falana, in a statement issued yesterday said it was regrettable that the members of the House of Representatives are not aware that the Child's Rights Act, 2003 and the Compulsory Free Universal Basic Education Act 2004 have made education free and compulsory for every Nigerian child from primary to junior secondary school.
He said that in SERAP v FRN (2010] ACHPR 109 and LEPAD vs Federal Ministry of Education (unreported suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/978/15), the Ecowas Court and the Federal High Court directed the Federal Government to ensure that every Nigerian child is given free and compulsory education.
But Falana contended that the resolutions are “needless and unfortunate because they show that the federal law makers are seemingly lacking in institutional memories of even the progress made by the legislature in making laws to promote universal access to basic education.”
He said since each of the 36 States of the Federation has adopted the Child's Rights Act and enacted a Child's Right Law, it has become the joint responsibility of the Federal, State and Local Governments to ensure that every Nigerian child is given access free and compulsory education.”
The activist lawyer stated further: “the Discrimination Against Persons With Disabilities (Prohibition) Act 2019, guarantees free education up to senior secondary school level for every person with disability while all public schools, whether primary, secondary or tertiary shall have at least one personnel trained to cater for the educational development of persons with disabilities or special facilities for the effective education of persons with disabilities.”
He regretted that these laws have been observed in their breach because the members of the political class drawn from all registered political parties have not demonstrated any commitment to the education of every child in Nigeria.
According to him, the members of the legislative and executive organs of governments have failed to appreciate the danger of having 18.5 million out-of-school children, the highest number in the world.
He argued that amending the Compulsory Free Universal Basic Education Act to make it more strings for parents will not work in a poverty stricken environment.
He advised that what the National Assembly should do instead is address the refusal of state governments to make counterpart contribution to the Universal Basic Education Fund pursuant to section 2 of the Compulsory Free Universal Basic Education Act.
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