CSO Indicts FG Over Out-Of-School Phenomenon

Say No Campaign, a Civil Society Organisation says lack of political will to implement the constitutional provisions on education has increased out of school phenomenon in Nigeria.
Co-convener of the organisation, Mr Ezenwa Nwagwu, told newsmen in Abuja, yesterday that successive governments have also failed to give adequate priority to education.
“Let’s start with the budget; budgetary allocation to education has remained below UNESCO requirement.
“The reality of the situation is (that) interventions have taken over statutory allocations to education; it is Universal Basic Education (UBE), TETFund or PTDF.
“This is part of our challenge; interventions become bureaucracy by taking responsibility of the line ministry that ought to originally deal with the fundamental question of education of the citizens.
“Non justice-ability of Chapter two, Section 18 (3) of the constitution that compels government to provide free and compulsory education from primary school to university has also created that yawning gap”, Nwagwu said.
Nwagwu said that non-payment of counterpart fund by states to access UBE funds was also a major impediment to primary education, particularly for poor parents.
“Whereas we claim that education is free, it is true that people pay all manner of under-hand fees which make it difficult for parents to send their wards to school.
“Though the school feeding program has encouraged many parents to send their wards to school, it has not addressed the hidden fees parents are compelled to pay for the education of their wards.
“We are not addressing the fundamental issues at all levels; the school feeding programme is only addressing the nutritional needs of the children,” he added.