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The Abia State Government has declared that education will be both free and mandatory for all children residing in the state, regardless of their state of origin. This policy aims to ensure that every child in the state has equal access to education.
Starting in January 2025, the state will roll out free education for all children, spanning from primary one through to Junior Secondary School three in all public schools.
Following the State Executive Council meeting, the Commissioner for Information, Prince Okey Kanu, addressed the press, stating that parents and guardians who disobey the newly introduced education policy would face prosecution. This measure, he noted, was essential to ensure the policy’s success.
“ In line with the Abia Child’s Rights Law 2006, it’s now an offence for parents not to send their children or wards to school because Government has made education free and compulsory”, Kanu warned.
The policy, he said, forms a crucial part of the Governor Alex Otti-led administration’s drive to make quality education both affordable and widely accessible throughout the state. This initiative is a cornerstone of the administration’s broader educational reforms.
He reiterated that there would be no reversal of the plan to move the Law Faculty back to the main Uturu campus from the Umuahia campus, explaining that the decision was made to serve the greater public good.
The Commissioner also announced that a contract had been awarded for the rehabilitation of nine additional roads in different parts of the state, and promised to provide details of the new road projects later.
He also disclosed that Government would attend to all issues arising from implementing the new minimum wage.
The Commissioner further said that the Governor had directed the Commissioner for Works to effect immediate repairs on the failed portion of the Osisioma ‘fly-over’ built by the immediate-past administration of Gov Okezie Ikpeazu.
Effective from January 1, 2025, the state government has made it illegal for parents to neglect sending their children and wards to school, emphasizing the importance of education for all.
Read also: Otti Settles N90bn Debt, Declares Abia Investment-Ready
Okey Kanu, the Commissioner for Information, addressed the press at the Government House in Umuahia on Monday, detailing the outcomes of this week’s State Executive Council meeting, which was led by Governor Alex Otti.
Kanu highlighted that this decision is integral to the educational reforms taking place in the state, pointing out that poverty is no longer an acceptable justification for not securing free, basic education in Abia.
He called on parents to take full advantage of the free education policy, stressing that sending their children to school is now a necessity. He also issued a stern warning that parents who neglect this responsibility will be prosecuted in accordance with the Abia State Child’s Law of 2006.
