A House of Representatives member, Bamidele Sallam, has advocated free and compulsory education in every part of the federation.
Sallam, representing Ede-North/Ede-South/Egbedore/Ejigbo federal constituency, in a statement issued to mark the Children’s Day, called on President Muhammadu Buhari and the state governors to issue a proclamation for the immediate enforcement of free and compulsory education for all children in the country.
He noted that free and compulsory education for Nigerian children was the only way to secure the future of the country against poverty and insecurity currently ravaging Africa’s most populous country.
Salam said it was regrettable that in spite of the clear provisions of Chapter 2 of the 1999 Constitution and Section 15 of the Child Rights Act 2003, millions of Nigerian children daily flock the streets begging for alms, hawking and engaging in other demeaning activities during school hours.
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He stressed that the Child Rights Act provided that ‘Every child has the right to free, compulsory and universal basic education and it shall be the duty of the government to provide such education’, lamenting that the provision had not been adhered to by state actors who ought to ensure that they did not remain mere rhetoric on paper.
The lawmaker also noted that since the primary duty of every government was to ensure the welfare and security of citizens, it was of utmost importance that children, being a vulnerable segment of the society, be given utmost care and attention to secure them from the future consequences of lack of education.
