A bill seeking to make basic
education free and compulsory for all Nigerians has passed second reading in
the house of representatives
The constitution amendment bill,
sponsored by Femi Gbajabiamila, the speaker, scaled second reading at the
plenary session on Thursday.
With Nigeria having one of the
highest children not in school across the world, the bill when passed would
give individuals the legal backing to enforce their right to basic education in
court.
Moving for its debate on behalf
of the speaker, Mohammed Monguno from Borno state said the bill is commendable
as it seeks to ensure that millions of out-of-school children in Nigeria return
to the classroom.
He added that the bill would cure
the lack of education drive and that education is the ultimate cure for
insurgency in the north-east.
Toby Okechukwu, the
representative from Enugu state, said Nigeria strongly needs such legislation
which would make education accessible to all.
Yakub Buba, from Adamawa state,
said Boko Haram insurgents have in the past used the lack of education as a
tool to brainwash citizens to join them, adding that the bill will stop the
trend.
Gbajabiamila said the bill will
ensure basic education is no longer a privilege but a fundamental human right
for Nigerians.
“The bill seeks to make free
compulsory education a national policy so that no child is left behind
nationwide,” he said.
“It also seeks to eliminate the
word illiteracy form the Nigerian lexicon as it is becoming a plague.
The bill was referred to an ad
hoc committee on the review of the Nigerian constitution.
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