In a passionate address at a recent summit on Nigeria’s out-of-school crisis hosted by the UK charity, IA-Foundation in Lagos, prominent human rights lawyer and activist, Femi Falana, has accused Nigerian politicians, particularly state government officials, of failing to address the pressing issue of children being out of school in the country.
Falana’s speech emphasised the urgent need for action to combat this crisis and called on the national assembly to step in and make a difference.
Falana highlighted the refusal of state governments to contribute their share to the country’s Universal Basic Education Fund, which has been obstructing access to basic education in Nigeria.
The 2022 UNESCO report had previously estimated that approximately 20 million children in Nigeria, the most populous nation in Africa, were out of school, underscoring the gravity of the situation.
In his address, he stressed the necessity of amending the constitution to empower the accountant-general of the federation to directly deduct the counterpart funds owed by each state government, as required by Section 2 of the Compulsory Free Universal Basic Education Act.
He pointed out that this critical funding was continuously neglected by state governments.
The activist drew attention to the concerns raised by the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) regarding state governments’ reluctance to provide counterpart funding and access the annual matching grants for the development of basic education.
He noted that “a substantial amount of intervention funds from UBEC remains unused in the coffers of State Universal Basic Education Boards (SUBEBs), despite the needs in the education system.”
Falana also recalled a past instance when the federal government had agreed to deduct the counterpart funds that state governments had failed to contribute, resulting in the remittance of N71.3 billion to UBEC.
This contribution, when matched by UBEC, provided N142.6 billion to enhance facilities in public primary and junior secondary schools across the country.
He urged the national assembly to address the refusal of state governments to fulfill their obligations to the Universal Basic Education Fund, as mandated by the Compulsory Free Universal Basic Education Act.
Falana emphasised the need for immediate action to empower the accountant-general to deduct these funds from the source, stressing the joint responsibility of the federal, state, and local governments to ensure that every Nigerian child has access to free and compulsory education.
He also highlighted the importance of enforcing laws that guarantee free education for children and individuals with disabilities and underscored the critical role of political leaders in tackling the issue of out-of-school children in Nigeria.
