NANS Backs Bill Barring Public officers Children From Schooling Abroad

The National Association of Nigerians Students (NANS) has vowed to mobilize its members nationwide against members of the federal house representatives over alleged rejection of a bill seeking to stop higher rank public officers members from sending their children to school abroad.

The bill sponsored by Hon. Sergius Ogun representing Esan North-East Federal Constituency of Edo, sought to stop public officials from diverting public funds to their children’s education abroad but was rejected by a majority of lawmakers.

The association’s national vice-president (Special Duties), Odiahi Thomas Ikhine, in a statement made available to newsmen on Thursday in Abuja, argued that the education sector in Nigeria is neglected because public officers do not have their children in public schools where the children of the poor attend.

He said the ongoing strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and many maladies besetting the education sector, were as a result of this neglect of the education sector by successive administrations in the country.

READ ALSO: Graduate who spent 12yrs for a 4-yr Course Narrates how She Went from Academic Failure to Business Guru

Ikhine said the Nigerian students at home and abroad are interested in the bill and would mobilise all over in support of the bill for it to be passed and assented into law by the President.

He appealed to all Nigerian students to support the national leadership of NANS led by Comrade Sunday Asefon in mobilizing all and sundry towards ensuring that this bill gets its due and maximum support.

The statement read in part: “Again, those we elected from our various constituencies at the Federal level have shown that they are 65 per cent the problem of Nigeria students and by extension the Educational sector and the nation as a whole.

“We watched with total dismay how a bill sponsored by Hon. Sergius Ogun from Edo State was rejected by the majority of the members of the House of Representatives.

“The significance of the bill is that politicians and public office holders will have reasons to take the educational sector seriously in terms of management and investment as those saddled with the responsibility of managing and building public institutions.

“They rejected it because they know that they have killed the educational system to the extent that they won’t even recommend the poor children of their soft enemies to attend public institutions in Nigeria talkless of their own biological children.

“To show how wicked our leaders are, they build hospitals that they and their children don’t go to for medical care, they build schools and certify it to be strictly for the poor and average citizens and their children.

“If their children start attending public schools compulsorily there is no way they will not strive to ensure that all the schools are well funded and in good shape to dish out good education,” he said

READ ALSO: ASUU Strike: We’ll Block All Roads Linking To Abuja If The Strike Is Not Called Off – NANS

CREDIT: ALLSCHOOL, Leadership