SOOTER TOMBOWUA
Department of Early Childhood Care and Education,
Benue State, Nigeria.
e-mail: [email protected]
PAUL ORLAFA TYOZUA
Department of Early Childhood Care and Education,
Benue State, Nigeria.
BONIFACE MYAGA
Department of Early Childhood Care and Education,
College of Education, Katsina-Ala,
Benue State, Nigeria.
Abstract
The importance of children education in any given society is very critical to the social and economic development of the society, particularly for its future pivotal development. To deny the child his/her right to education is to deny the nation its critical development. The needs of the child ranging from feeding, clothing, accommodation and capacity hang on the shoulders of adults, parents, guardians and the government. Because of their vulnerability, they cannot cater for themselves hence they must be provided guidance, training and care for meaningful contribution in the society. It was in recognition of this, that the right of children education was entrenched in several international and domestic legal instruments. However, there is the problem of implementation and enforcement of these extant laws as there are still so many uneducated, unfed, and tattered children in the streets engaged in hawking, child labour, begging and so on. And the resultant effect of this is that the social and economic landscapes of the future generation in Nigeria cannot be guaranteed. This paper therefore discusses the relevant laws and policies on children’s education in Nigeria. It also examines the challenges faced in effective implementation of these laws and concludes that there is a lack of proper mechanism to effectively entrench the provision of the various instruments. Finally, the paper recommends the provision of enforcement machinery that will ensure implementation and the need to address the issue of poverty.
Keywords: Children’s Right, Education, Domestication.