Agitated by the growing wave of criminality occasioned by the frightening level of out of school children in parts of the country, the Senate, yesterday, resolved to convoke a National Summit to brainstorm and fashion out a permanent solution to the menace. The apex legislative Assembly took this decision, following its consideration of a report by the Senate committee on Education (Basic& Secondary) on a motion sponsored by Senator Usman Lawal Adamu (Kaduna, Central) on the compelling need to tackle the challenge of out of school children in the country. Leading debate on the motion, Senator Adamu revealed that over 20 million out of school children were roaming about in parts of the country, stressing that a larger percentage of the population came from Northern part of the country Contributing, the Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Barau Jibril said: “Mr.
President, I feel compelled to comment on this report because the issue is very important. It is a serious problem that, if we leave it unattended, it is a kind of time bomb, and once it explodes, it will consume us, particularly the Northern part of this country. “Because the number of children roaming our streets without going to school needs our attention, it is a serious problem.
It is a problem that the solution is beyond the Federal Government alone or any tier of government. It should have an all-inclusive attention. Local, state, and federal governments, traditional and religious leaders, and even parent.