The Executive Secretary (ES) of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Dr.Tony Ojukwu, has again asked the Federal Government to work towards making education free and compulsory in Nigeria.
THE WHISTLER recalls the commission in a report on July 12, 2023, asked Tinubu to seek amendment of the 1999 constitution to enforce the economic, social and cultural rights of the country’s citizens.
In commemoration of the International Day of Education on Wednesday, Ojukwu restated that stakeholders in Nigeria need to push for quality, equitable, and inclusive education for all.
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He said making education free and compulsory, increasing the number of teachers, improving basic school infrastructure, and embracing digital transformation are essential to achieving quality and accessible education.
According to him, education is the key to achieving other Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially Goal 4 which had to do with education financing.
“When people are able to get quality education, they can break the cycle of poverty and there will be peace”.
“Low levels of information and communications technology (ICT) skills are also major barriers to achieving universal and meaningful quality education for all,” Ojukwu was quoted as saying in a statement signed by the NHRC spokesperson, Agharese Arase.
The ES observed that education helps to reduce inequalities and empowers people to live more healthily and sustainably while fostering tolerance between people as it contributes to peaceful societies.
The senior lawyer said although progress has been made with the Agenda 2030 education targets set by the United Nations, continued efforts are required to address persistent challenges to ensure that quality education is accessible to all, leaving no one behind.
“Economic constraints, coupled with issues of high learning dropout rates in marginalized areas, underscore the need for a continued global commitment to ensuring inclusive and equitable education for all,” he added.
The statement partly reads,”The Chief Human Rights Advocate lamented that Sub-Saharan Africa faces the biggest challenges in providing schools with basic resources.
“According to him, the situation is extreme at the primary and lower secondary levels, where less than half of schools in sub-Saharan Africa have access to drinking water, electricity, computers, and the Internet.
“In addition, Dr.Ojukwu said women and girls are the most disadvantaged in the enjoyment of the right to education.
“He noted that studies have revealed that about 40 percent of countries in Sub-Saharan Africa have not achieved gender parity in primary education.
“These disadvantages in education also translate into a lack of access to skills and limited opportunities in the labor market for young women, he lamented.”