THE Senate has called on the Judiciary in the 36 States of the Federation to set up mobile courts for the enforcement of the Universal Basic Education, UBE ACT, and as well set a time limit of two years for the diligent implementation of the UBE Act as stipulated in section 2 (2).
According to the Senate, the issue of out of school children has become very disturbing against the backdrop that the 2022 report of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) that about 20 million Nigerian children are out of school which represent 10 percent of the estimated Nigerian population of 200 million people on Nigeria.
Meanwhile Chairman, Senate Committee on Interior, Senator Adams Oshiomhole, APC, Edo North has said that inequality and abject poverty anywhere has constituted a huge security risk to everyone in Nigeria, just as he called for an urgent need to tackle issues of oit of school children in the country as it poses as a huge security risk on citizens.
Contributing to debate on a motion titled, " Compelling Need to tackle the challenge of Out of School Children in Nigeria,” sponsored by Senator Idiat Oluranti Adebule, APC, Lagos West, Oshiomhole who noted that an illiterate is bound to give birth to another illiterate, however emphasised on the importance of education for every citizen, saying, “I really don't think we need any tutorial to remind us that he or she who didn't have the opportunity or was denied the opportunity to go to school, is destined to be poor forever. An illiterate young man or woman is bound to give birth to another illiterate child which will lead to a dynasty of the poor constituting a risk to the rich.
“Today in Nigeria, we can see and we are all witnesses that inequality and abject poverty anywhere has constituted a huge security risk to everyone in Nigeria. it is clear that every Nigerian children needs to go ti school.”
The Senate has also called on the Ministry of Education and its related parastatals and agencies such as the Universal Basic Education stakeholders including non-governmental organisations to bring up new strategy to effectively deal with out of school children problem as well as rekindle the national consciousness through sensitisation and advocacy on the importance of education to the growth and development of the country and the benefits of having a majority educated population.
The Upper Chamber mandated its Committee on Education (Basic & Secondary) to engage the Federal Ministry of Education with a view to paying special attention to the issue of Out of School Children with the ultimate objective of drastically reducing the number.
The Senate has further urged governments at all levels to implement targeted intervention programmes that will address all the factors militating against free access to quality and basic education particularly, multidimensional poverty and insecurity.
Earlier in her presentation, Senator Idiat Oluranti Adebule noted that the issue of out of school children has become worrisome, given the 2022 report of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) that about 20 million Nigerian children are out of school which represent 10 percent of the estimated Nigerian population of 200 million people on Nigeria.
Senator Oluranti Adebule said that "the Senate: Notes that the issue of out of school children has become worrisome, given the 2022 report of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) that about 20 million Nigerian children are out of school which represent 10 percent of the estimated Nigerian population of 200 million people and also represents the highest number of Out of School Children from any country globally;
"Also notes that though the Ministry of Education disputed the figure but it is generally agreed that whatever the real figures, the issue of Out of School Children has become an albatross on the neck of the Nigerian State that must be dealt with as a matter of urgency;
"Further notes that the social impacts of having about 20 million Out of School Children on the Nigerian State will include: Impediment to achieving some of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, especially goal (4) which is to ensure inclusiveness and equitable quality of education and promotion of lifelong learning opportunities for all; Providing easy pool for recruitment into criminal gangs, banditry and terrorism which are the biggest security issues the Nigerian State has been dealing with for many years;
Achievement of national economic justice and inclusiveness will further be jeopardized, and many more Nigerians may become ill-equipped to climb out of the poverty bracket; and Other social problems that might arise from this condition are gender inequality, early/child marriage, general socio-political instability.
"Aware that the past successive administrations made several efforts to deal with the Out of School Children problem and the last being the deployment of home-grown school feeding programs by the Muhammadu Buhari administration and supported with other programmes by development partners like the World Bank’s sponsored “Better Education Service Delivery For All” programme. However, all these efforts have had little impact on the surging number of Out of School Children, and we therefore need new thinking and more aggressive strategy to deal with this menace.
"Convinced that when all the institutions concerned are committed to their responsibilities, the menace of out of school children would be overcome because the situation is of concern to the Federal Government of Nigeria,
Support to the motion, Senator Tahir Monguno , APC, Borno North who gave a personal account on how he had almost dropped out of school, however stressed on the importance of education for every citizen.
Monguno said, "It might interest you to know that while I was in primary 7, I decided to drop out of school and the reason why I dropped out was that in my community, once you are a driver, you are the talk of town and the elite. When there is a festivity in my community boys girls will line up and then girls will come and invite you to dance with them. When we line up togrther, girls will only come and lnvite drivers to dance with them.
“I said okay, if that is the case, let me go and become a driver so that when we go for festivities, girls will call me to come and dance with them. Because of this I dropped out of school, but because of the insistence of my late uncle with whom I grew up with, I finished my primary school went to secondary school, went to university, went to law school last, called to the bar, became an attorney General, five times member of the House of Representatives and now a distinguished Senator.
“I am giving out this my experience in life on merely dropping out of school. Those at that period in time that dropped out of school and became drivers, today, the difference is clear. Intact it was not more that 3 months ago when I had to buy cars for those drivers in order to support them (my classmates in secondary school).
“Any society that neglects education on its background, does so at its own risk,"
On his part, former President of the Senate, Senator Ahmad Lawan, APC, Yobe North who expressed concerns over the increased rate of out of school children which according to him is both a social as well as a serious security problem in the country.
Lawan said, “I want to say that we have more than 20 million out of school children, because the 20 million we are talking about are possibly only in the basic education, that is the primary school and JSS.
“What about time who have finished JSS 3 and are not able to go to SS 1. We may be talking about 30 million out of school children and that is a huge population.
“It is a major issue for development, for the security of our country. Until we are able to have our youths properly educated, prepared for tomorrow both for leadership and productivity, growth and development may be eluding us.”
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