Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja
The House of Representatives has called on the federal government to deal more decisively with the issue of banditry and also consider proscribing kidnappers as terrorists.
The House also urged the Federal Ministry of Education to deploy technology and logistics to provide security in government schools in Nigeria.
It further urged all private school owners across the country to deploy adequate security in their schools.
The resolutions of the House were sequel to the adoption of a motion moved at the plenary yesterday by Hon. Taiwo Oluga on the need to provide security measures in government and private schools.
Moving the motion, Oluga said Section 14(2) (b) of the 1999 Constitution as amended provided that the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of the government.
She said that Section 18 of the Constitution provided for the Educational Objectives of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and mandates the federal government to ensure equal and adequate educational opportunities for all citizens at all levels and also that government must strive to eradicate illiteracy, provide free, compulsory and universal primary and secondary education.
Oluga said regardless of those objectives, the United Nations International Children Emergency Fund (UNICEF) report of 2018 stipulated that of every five out–of–school children in the world, one is a Nigerian child.
She stressed that the report further revealed that approximately 10.5 million children in Nigeria between 5–14 years of age are out of school, 60 per cent of 6–1 years of age children regularly attend primary schools and only 35.6 per cent of children of age between 36 months to59 months receive early child education.
Oluga noted: “Despite these frightening statistics on education in Nigeria, there is an aggressive assault on education in Nigeria, mainly by the dreaded Boko Haram and bandits in the North that have developed a penchant for massive abduction of children, thereby increasing the number of out of school children in Nigeria.
“Despite these developments, the Federal Ministry of Education, the States Ministries of Education and private school owners have not taken steps to provide adequate security in schools across the country to prevent attacks.”
While commending the federal government’s intervention in the School Feeding Program, Oluga noted that there was an urgent need to provide adequate security for schools in the country to ensure the safety of school pupils.