The Nigerian Senate has sought to significantly increase the penalty for parents who fail to enroll their children in school, proposing a hike from N2,500 to N250,000. This move aims to address the issue of out-of-school children in Nigeria.
The Senate also passed a Bill for an Act to amend the Compulsory, Free Universal Basic Education (UBE) Act through its second reading. The bill, moved by Senator Idiat Adebule, seeks to revise the law to ensure that the provision empowering Local Education Authorities within the States and the Federal Capital Territory to prosecute parents who deny their wards basic education is effectively implemented.
The proposed amendment includes increasing penalties for defaulting parents from N2,500 to N250,000. Additionally, the bill seeks to amend and delete section 4(2) of the UBE Act, 2004, which currently excludes parents in the diaspora from being sanctioned.
The bill, which received unanimous support, has been referred to the Committee on Education, Basic and Secondary, for further review and is expected to report back in two weeks.
This legislative effort comes in response to the alarming number of out-of-school children in Nigeria, which the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) estimates to be around 20 million—a figure that has been disputed by some government officials.
