The Nigerian Senate is considering an amendment to the 1999 Constitution that would impose a six-month jail term on parents who fail to enroll their children in school.
The proposal was put forward by Senator Usman Lawal Adamu, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Education (Primary and Secondary), during a plenary session on Wednesday.
“We are proposing a six-month jail term for parents who refuse to send their children to school. We must come to terms with the fact that education is very key. It’s the solution to these criminalities that are happening,” Adamu stated.
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The move comes in response to the alarming number of out-of-school children in Nigeria, which Senate President Godswill Akpabio said stands at over 20 million.
Akpabio warned that this figure poses a significant threat to national security, describing the children as “potential bandits.”
“Twenty million out-of-school children is a timebomb for any country. They are potential bandits; they are a major danger. This is the root cause of insecurity in the country,” Akpabio emphasized.
Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin echoed similar concerns, highlighting the issue’s urgency, especially in northern Nigeria. “Out-of-school children are a serious problem. It is a kind of timebomb, and once it explodes, it will consume us, particularly the northern part of this country,” Jibrin remarked.
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Senator Simon Lalong called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to instruct state governors to address the crisis, given the substantial funds allocated to them for education.
The Senate concluded the session with a motion by Senator Seriake Dickson to hold a national summit aimed at tackling the out-of-school children problem.
The summit, which was seconded by Barau Jibrin, is expected to involve stakeholders from federal, state, and local governments, as well as civil society organizations. No date has been set for the event.
This proposed amendment, if passed, would mark a significant step in addressing the country’s educational challenges and improving school enrollment rates nationwide.
