…School enrollment, attendance rate in Jeopardy in FCT
…Subsidy removal risks being counter-productive if effects not properly managed
By Chimezie Godfrey
The Save-Public Education-Campaign, Nigeria, has called on the Minister of Federal Capital Territory, Barrister Nyesom Wike, to intervene in the difficulties parents and school children are facing in the area of transportation to and fro School by rolling out special transportation intervention scheme for School Children FCT-wide.
This, the Education group says should be done by immediately emplacing Mass-transit Carriers to transport Students free-of-charge in all parts of the federal capital. According to it, this will act as a good buffer to the impacts of the subsidy removal on Education and development goals of the FCT.
The Save-Public-Education Campaign made this Call while reacting to the School resumption indices of the FCT it monitored.
According to the Convener of the Education Group, Comrade Vivian Bello, monitoring reports of School resumption across the FCT it carried out, showed that there was significant drop in the number of school children that resumed for classes in Primary and Secondary Schools across the Federal Capital.
This she said was traced to the inability of parents to effectively mobilize their wards with transport monies to and fro schools even as the monitoring revealed that the school children were willing and eager to go to School.
Comrade Vivian pointed out that this situation, if not quickly addressed could lead to the loss of the children within such delicate age bracket to social vices which the society is presently battling to contain.
In her words, “I think there are better and more tangible things that can be done with the subsidy allocation of the FCT than sharing Rice and Palm Oil etc.
“No School Child in FCT for instance, should be denied education because of inability to transport him/herself to School and so mass buses should be rolled out and devoted to conveying School Children.
“In same vein, thousands of mass-transit buses lie wasting away at the terminal in Katampe, these glaring wastages should be checked, have these buses fixed and immediately purposed for Students transportation.
“This intervention will be a major way to maintain stability and ensure the gains that have been achieved with School enrolment and attendance in the FCT are not lost”.
The Save-Public-Education Campaign noted that States such as Niger, etc was already doing this and urged the FCT administration to toe this laudable step.
It reiterated that it will continue to monitor the education sector, partner with authorities and other stakeholders with a view to recommending and working towards areas and measures that will strengthen and improve the country’s educational outcomes towards meeting its developmental priorities.
