– says it is now an offence for any child seen in Kogi hawking during school hours
The Kogi State Government has vowed to arrest children hawking during school hours and their parents or guardians prosecuted for disallowing the child from school.
The State Commissioner of Education, Science and Technology, Wemi Jones, disclosed this to newsmen on Wednesday during a facility tour of the newly constructed GYB Model Science Secondary School Adankolo in Lokoja.
The education commissioner who said the Governor Yahaya Bello administration placed much premium on education said in a bid to ensure that every child goes to school in the state, the Kogi Education Law has been enacted to guide and regulate the education sector.
The commissioner said there was no basis for any parent not to allow his child to go to school as the government has invested heavily in education and warned that any school-age child seen hawking or roaming the streets during school hours would be arrested and the parents prosecuted for violating the education law of the state.
Meanwhile, Wemi Jones said the state government has concluded arrangements to employ a total of 3,979 teachers to beef up the quality and quantity of teachers in secondary schools across the state.
He disclosed that the model science schools are located across the three senatorial zones of the state to increase access to government-funded education as a reprieve for parents and their wards.
The commissioner added that as part of Governor Bello’s commitment to quality and accessible education, he established Confluence University of Science and Technology, Osara, which he said has since commenced lectures.
He assured that the university would absorb the students seeking higher education in sciences, technology and medicine, as the National Universities Commission (NUC) has accredited several courses.
Hon Wemi Jones explained that Prince Abubakar Audu University, Ayingba and the Teaching Hospital have been developed and equipped for conductive and thorough learning and teaching.
Meanwhile, the Chairman, Nigeria Union of Journalists, Kogi State Council, Adeiza Momojimoh, commended the state government for its wonderful achievement in the education sector.
He however noted with dissatisfaction, the government’s inability to carry along the working journalists in the state which he said has kept the citizens in the dark and said as critical stakeholders, the government should not neglect the press.
