The Bayelsa State government is preparing a law to enable it arrest and prosecute parents and guardians of children and wards who are either drop-outs or not schooling.
Education Commissioner Markson Fefegha spoke yesterday in Yenagoa, the state capital, when he got an award from the Centre for Save and Serve Humanity Organisation (CSSHO).
He said the government had concluded arrangement to send an executive “Compulsory Education Bill” to the House of Assembly for passage to begin the process.
Fefegha said the bill would complement the present administration’s investments in the Education sector valued at N80 billion.
According to him, when passed into law, the bill will mandate parents and guardians to send their children and wards to school and ensure children between ages 6 and 18 are not found on streets during school hours.
The commissioner noted that with the existing Education Trust Fund policy and loan scheme in the state, parents had no excuses not to send their children to school.
He said the bill was also designed to prohibit street hawking by children of school age.
Fefegha said Dickson was committed to making education compulsory and affordable for Bayelsa residents.