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Members of the House of Representatives on n Thursday called for implementation of compulsory and free education from primary to secondary schools cross the country.
The initiative was aimed at reducing the spate of illiteracy level among Nigerians especially the 10.5 million out-of-school children.
The resolution was passed following the adoption of a motion co-sponsored by Nurudeen Olaitan and Abdulraheem Olajide, who expressed regrets over the BBC reort which described Nigeria as one of the 10 countries in the world where majority of children are deprived access to education.
In his lead debate, Olaitan stated that the issue of out-of-school children is a worldwide phenomenon and UNESCO put the statistics of these children at about 50 million worldwide, with the children of the poor regions of Africa and Asia making up the greater percentage.
He stated that Nigeria alone has over 10.500 million children out of school, with female children making up about 60 percent of this number.
Olaitan observed that low regard for education, tradition, early marriage, insurgency in the North Eastern part of the nation and other factors were responsible for the current trend.
He asserted that no nation can attain economic growth without a sound and stable education system, hence the nation must ensure more children go to school.
The lawmaker noted that when the girl child and education activist, Malala visited Nigeria in 2017, she called for a state of emergency for the education system.
Also speaking, Segun Adekola stated that Nigeria cannot continue to grapple with insecurity and insurgency, as those affected in those areas fear to send their wards back to school for fear of abduction.
He expressed his fear for the future of the out-of-school children.
In his remarks, Gudaji Kazaure stated that the ruling party APC had in their campaign in 2015 promised free education to the people of Nigeria, he called on the Federal Government to fulfill this promise so that more children can enjoy the right to quality education.
After robust debate on the motion, the House urged government at all levels to make primary and secondary school education free and compulsory.
The House also urged Federal Government to invest more in teachers’ training, improve on student/teacher ratio and prioritize education in budgets.
The House also mandated the Committee on Basic Education and Services, chaired by Zakari Mohammed to investigate the matter with a view to recommending lasting solutions to the problem of out of school children and report back within six weeks for further legislative action.
KEHINDE AKINTOLA, Abuja
