SPEC CALLS FOR THE PROVISION OF FREE TRASNPORTATION FOR SCHOOL CHILDREN IN FCT

By Vivian Bello

The Save Public Education Campaign (SPEC), Nigeria, has called on the Minister of Federal Capital Territory, Barrister Nyesom Wike, to intervene in the difficulties Parents and School Children are facing in the area of transportation to and fro School by rolling out special transportation intervention scheme for School Children FCT-wide.

We believe the minister should intervene by immediately emplacing mass transit buses to transport Students free of charge in all parts of the federal capital. This will act as a good buffer to the impacts of the subsidy removal on Education and development goals of the FCT.

Having monitored reports of School resumption across the FCT, one obvious finding is a significant drop in the number of School Children that resumed classes in Primary and Secondary Schools across the Federal Capital. This can be traced to the inability of Parents to effectively mobilize their wards with transport monies to and fro Schools even as the monitoring revealed that the School Children were willing and eager to go to school.

We believe that if this situation is not quickly addressed, it could lead to the loss of Children within such a delicate age bracket to social vices which society is presently battling to contain. We believe there are better and more tangible things that can be done with the subsidy allocation of the FCT than sharing Rice and Palm Oil etc. No School Child in FCT for instance, should be denied education because of inability to transport him/herself to School and so mass busses should be rolled out and devoted to conveying School Children. In the same vein, thousands of mass-transit buses lie wasting away at the terminal in Katampe, these glaring wastages should be checked, have these busses fixed and immediately purposed for Students’ transportation. This intervention will be a major way to maintain stability and ensure the gains that have been achieved with School enrolment and attendance in the FCT are sustained.

While some states like Niger State are doing something similar, we of the Save Public Education Campaign call on the FCT administration to toe this similar step. We will continue to monitor the Education sector, and partner with Authorities and other Stakeholders with a view to recommending and working towards areas and measures that will strengthen and improve the Country’s educational outcomes towards meeting its developmental priorities.