A group has urged the Nigerian government to criminalize the failure of parents to enrol their children in schools.

The charge was given in Abuja by a nongovernmental organization, Paulash Initiative, during its programme to increase awareness of the impact of girl child education.

The founder of the group, Folashade Okomayi, said unless the government makes non-enrollment of school-aged children an offence punishable by law, Nigeria will not be able to rid itself of out- of-school children.

“I think what the government should do is that when children are seen hawking; or doing menial jobs during school hours; government should take them somewhere and trace their parents or wards,” she said.

“If they punish one or two parents under a certain law that should be enacted for the purpose; others will take caution.”

Mrs. Okomayi added that the rally was organised to enlighten Nigerians about the growing challenges facing the girl child in the country.

“A lot of girls are still being subjected to the background in our society. When you talk about growing number of out-of-school children, the greatest number of those affected is girls,” she said.

“In terms of domestic violence, girls are also mostly at the receiving end. The story is the same when you talk about child marriage.”

Credit: PremiumTimes