Minister Calls For Accelerated Passage Of Compulsory Education Bill In Bayelsa State
Princess-Ekwi Ajide Abuja
In a bid to help tackle out of school children menance in Bayelsa State, the Minister of State for Education, Honourable Goodluck Nana Opia has appealed to Bayelsa Lawmakers to give the compulsory education bill accelerated passage in the State.
The Minister made the appeal at the flag off ceremony of the National Campaign on out of school children in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa state capital.
The compulsory Education Bill which is awaiting passage, seeks to make it compulsory for every parent and guardian to send their children to school in order to rid Bayelsa state of out of school children and school dropouts.
Under the bill, parents of children of school age between 6-18 years who are out of school will be arrested and prosecuted.
The Minister said, 60 percent of out of school children in Bayelsa state are girls .
According to him, the Federal government through the instrumentality of the Universal Basic Education (UBEC) is doing everything humanly possible to assist states to strengthen basic education by confronting factors that deny children early education, including extreme proverty, ignorance and access to education among others.
The Minister said the sensitization is designed to ensure massive enrolment of children in basic and primary schools and should be taken seriously by all stakeholders, adding that it is a moral and legal obligation, as it will guarantee the future of the children and by necessary implication on the nation.
Honourable Opiah, commended successive administrations in Bayelsa State for the special attention given to education, including the declaration of the state of emergency in the education sector in the state, the introduction of a free education policy at primary and secondary levels and the inauguration of the enrollment drive committee, all of which have led to a huge enrollment in schools in the state.
The Minister said no parent in Bayelsa state has any excuse to keep a child out of school anymore.
In his keynote address at the ocassion, the Governor of Bayelsa State, Senator Douye Diri, said that there are two hundred and fifty thousand children out of school in Bayelsa particularly in the rural areas hence education remains the priority of his administration.
Governor Diri appealed to Bayelsans to cooperate with his administration in the implementation of relevant laws on out of school children to help rid the state of the menace of out of school children.
He revealed that relevant laws are already in 
and called for all hands to be on deck for its implementation
The governor further challenged the State Assembly to put in place a sound oversight mechanism that would ensure that the relevant rules are implemented.
Governor Douye asked Bayelsans to see education beyond certificate acquisition with emphasis on skills acquisition for Education, is key to human existence.
Earlier at a courtesy call on the Governor, the Minister had told him that the present administration of President Muhammadu Buhari attaches great premium on issues of out of school children across the country, calling for all hands to be on deck to tackle the phenomenon.
In his reaction, Governor Diri expressed appreciation for government ‘s concern for out of school children, assuring that His administration stands ready to support the efforts of the Federal government in tackling the out of school children phenomenon.
Governor Diri, used the occasion to inform the Minister that Bayelsa state is up to date in it’s counterpart funding for Basic education up to 2022 and was awaiting Federal government’s component (UBEC) to hit the ground running.
