House Proposes Ban on Overseas Education for Children of Politicians

Bolanle Akanji

Moderator
A bill seeking to ban political office holders and
senior public servants from sending their wards
to schools overseas may soon be introduced in
the House of Representatives.
If the bill scales all the hurdles at the National
Assembly and is passed into law, it would be a
crime for the president, vice-president,
governors, deputy governors, ministers,
members of the National Assembly, state Houses
of Assembly, commissioners, permanent
secretaries and directors in the federal and state
Civil Services to enroll their children in schools
abroad except for post graduate degree
programmes.
Chairman, House Committee on Finance, Hon.
Abdulmumin Jibrin, disclosed this yesterday, at a
public lecture to mark the 2013 Annual
International Youth Day in Abuja.
The proposed legislation, Jibrin said, was
designed to address the growing decay of
infrastructure and the resultant poor quality of
education in public schools in Nigeria.
In a paper titled: "Nigeria at 53: The Role and
Challenges of Legislators in Making the Nation's
Youths Resourceful and Self Reliant", Jibrin
decried the poor quality of education in Nigeria
and blamed it on the deliberate neglect of the
system by successive governments at all levels.
He said though most of those in prominent
positions in government today passed through
the public school system, they have abandoned
it and chosen to send their children to private
schools in Nigeria and abroad in spite of the huge
financial cost of such a decision.
Under the proposed legislation, these prominent
Nigerians would be compelled to have their
children and wards enrolled in public schools in
Nigeria.
He said the education sector in Nigeria required
revolutionary bills that would save the system
from total ruin.
“The major element of this bill is that all public
servants from a particular rank and all political
office holders would have to get their children to
do their primary, secondary and first degree
education in public schools in Nigeria.
“A similar bill was introduced at the Senate but it
could not pass second reading. We are working
on that bill with like minds and we will take it
back to the floor of the House of Representatives.
Let us do our own bit. If Nigerians support us,
fine; if they don't, fine. But we have looked at the
situation and have come to the conclusion that
this is probably the only way out of this problem
of neglect of our public schools,” Jibrin said.
He observed that the absence of the children of
the high, powerful and mighty in Nigerian public
schools meant that those who should care for the
system have their commitment to either the
private schools or the educational system in
other countries.
Jibrin argued that the state of decadence in the
education sector had reached an alarming rate
that a radical solution was required to arrest total
collapse of the system.
He said it had become imperative that
lawmakers add value to the process of education
not just by ensuring adequate funding for the
sector but also by emphasising entrepreneurship
education to help the youths understand the
various options available to them in a liberal
economy.
In any sane country, he said, issues concerning
the youths were not toyed with as youths
remained a crucial factor in nation building.
According to him, the legislators have a role to
play in ensuring that a conducive atmosphere
was created to enable youths realise their full
potentials and contribute meaningfully to the
development of the country.
 
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