Bayelsa Assembly Holds Public Hearing On Compulsory Primary, Secondary Education

The Bayelsa House of Assembly, on Friday, held public hearing on Compulsory Primary and Secondary Education Bill 2017 in the Legislative Chamber two of the complex.

The public converged on the Bayelsa Assembly Hall in Yenagoa to make input into the bill.

The one-day public hearing was in partnership with the UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and Bayelsa Ministry of Education.

The Chairman of the Committee on Education, Mr Gentle Emela, described the hearing as critical requirement to the bill.

He said the state’s version of the bill had been on the floor of the House for a while, adding that it had gone through many processes of scrutiny.

Emela said the state government had declared free education on assumption of office.

In his remark, the leader of the Bayelsa Assembly, Mr Peter Akpe, said education was
the right of every child and not a privilege.

He said that one of the major challenges of education was finance, recalling, however, that UNESCO had directed state governments to channel 15 per cent of their funds to
education.

He added that “the bill, when passed, will guarantee free education from primary to secondary school level.

“The bill has a section which will enable community leaders to report parents who don’t send their children to school for appropriate authorities for sanction.”

Akpe said if any principal or headmaster was found collecting money from parents, he or she would pay N200,000 or risked going to six months in prison.

The state’s Commissioner for Education, Mr Markson Feifegha, said education was
compulsory for every child.

He said the present Bayelsa Government had invested over N50 billion in the education sector and pledged the commitment of the Ministry of Education in the
passage of the Compulsory Primary and Secondary Bill 2017 into law.