KEY POINTS
- From January 2025, Abia State will provide free and compulsory education.
- Abia Child’s Rights Law holds that parents face prosecution for non compliance.
- There are also additional reforms, such as relocation of university campus and fixing roads.
All children in Abia state will get free and compulsory education, which will start in January 2025, the state government has announced.
The initiative, which covers primary to junior secondary school, is in line with the Abia Child’s Rights Law 2006, which requires parents to send their children to school or face prosecution, Commissioner for Information, Prince Okey Kanu, said.
Policy content and enforcement
Prince Kanu also explained the government’s tuition-free program meant poverty can no longer be an excuse for poor child education by the government.
According to him, the policy is Governor Alex Otti’s policy of advancing quality education in the state, stating that parents who fail to comply with this new law will be prosecuted.
Infrastructure and additional reforms
The State also announced the move of Law Faculty of Abia State University back to its main campus in Uturu alongside the embarkment on road rehabilitating work.
The government has directed the immediate repair of the Osisioma flyover on safety grounds.
This is a big shift for Abia’s education system, creating less barriers to education and encouraging the families to capitalise from the new policies.
