A Professor of Family Law at the University of Ibadan, Professor Osifunke Sekinah Ekundayo, has attributed the sad stories of out-of-school children to systematic exclusion.
She said this while delivering the 580th inaugural lecture of the University of Ibadan on behalf of the Faculty of Law.
The lecture was entitled: “Speaking Up for the Numerous Voiceless Children Shut Out of School in Nigeria: An Endless Odyssey?”
Professor Ekundayo submitted that ensuring access and completion of primary education for every child in Nigeria is the responsibility of the state, therefore it must ensure that primary education is available, accessible, acceptable and adaptable for all children.
The Don also stated that quality education is critical to addressing human rights abuses and ensuring that no child is left behind.
Prof. Ekundayo lamented that poverty is a recurring reason for non-completion of primary school education in Nigeria.
She particularly attributed the truncation of children’s primary education to the evidenced surging costs of schooling, saying that while the importance of education is emphasised in international and regional human rights framework, the Nigerian government needs to channel its constitution towards the realisation of the child’s right to basic education by providing access to quality education.
She noted that Nigeria has made attempts to implement the inherent right to free and compulsory primary education for all children, albeit there are still several challenges being encountered by disadvantaged children.
The lnaugural lecturer identified such challenges as poverty, conflicts, cultural beliefs, insufficient funding, and lack of substantive provision to guarantee the right to free and compulsory primary education in the Nigerian constitution, among others.
She reiterated that to ensure that all children have unhindered access to education, abolition of school fees would not be about the tuition fees alone but the wide range of costs of schooling borne by families and households.
The Don emphasised the need for a constitutional amendment that would incorporate a substantial right to free and compulsory basic education and empower the citizens to enforce the right judicially.
She said that for Nigeria to comply with international human rights standards on education, the state needs to be willing to recognise the right constitutionally and prioritise its resources accordingly.
She advised that at the policy level, the government’s commitment to ensuring that the child’s right to education is assured is necessary.
She recommended that the state should demonstrate this through the establishment of a sustainable financial framework.
The inaugural lecturer called for an overhauling of the management and administration of education, monitoring of state government expenditure, and constitutional provisions for financing education, which should also cover the award of scholarships to the indigent students.
Professor Ekundayo noted that access to quality education would serve the developmental interests of children, adding that when children do not have access to a school with good quality education, they risk losing the opportunity to develop their full potential and access other human rights.
She stressed on one of the greatest investments a country could make in its economic future, which is an investment in the education of its children,
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According to her, this would eventually lead to production of indigenous skilled manpower in the country.
She said that the denial of primary education is a violation of the customary rights of children, advocating the recognition of children’s right to education and a translation of the right to actual practice.
The inaugural lecture was the third in the series for the 2024/2025 academic session.
