CHILD’S RIGHT NON-NEGOTIABLE, NGO TASK GOVERNMENT TO BE MORE PROACTIVE

As Nigeria marks the annual children’s day, a Lagos based Non-Governmental Organization, Human Development Initiatives, (HDI) in partnership with ActionAid committed to promoting child’s rights especially the right of all children to quality, equitable, inclusive and free education has called on the Government to be more proactive to the provision of child basic needs which is non-negotiable according to UNICEF and as protected by the Lagos State Child Right Law 2007  adding that no child has to suffer for actions that are not of their making.

In a release by the Executive Director, Olufunso Owasanoye ,this call is germane to realizing the equitable quality and inclusive education and lifelong learning opportunities for all as captured in the Sustainable Development Goal 4 to which Nigeria is a signatory while noting that in the last few months, HDI had embarked on series of activities to promote right based approach to education while calling on Government, particularly, Lagos State to break all barriers to Free, Quality, Equitable And Inclusive public education saying this is the right of all children which the government has sworn to protect and must ensure as a matter of obligation.

According to her, Children paying before accessing education is a violation of this right regardless their gender, race, age or social status. Despite the fact that Nigeria is still far from what is obtainable in developed countries admonishing the Government to fulfill all promises particularly taking actions to increase the size of its budget through fair tax, increase the share allocated to and spent on education, open education budget and expenditure to effective public scrutiny and make its expenditure, policies and systems on education sensitive to the needs of all children especially girls and the marginalized.

“As we celebrate 2019 Children’s day, Government can put smiles on the faces of children and all parents by taking these needed actions”. She noted.

While calling for increment in the funding for children with special needs from 2% to 3% of the consolidated revenue, Olufunso explained that HDI has partnered with lot of Non-Governmental Organizations and major educational boards including SUBEB and has come to the realization that we need more relative to what we intend to achieve adding that more concerted effort on training and retraining of teachers to meet the reality of today’s education, provision of necessary infrastructure bearing in mind that every child has a right to free, quality and inclusive education is very imperative.