Mobile courts that will handle cases of child neglect and enforce compliance with school attendance regulations are to be established by the Cross River State government.
Chief judge of the state will enforce the policy and henceforth, any child found in the wrong place at the wrong time will be apprehended and handed over to the appropriate authorities.
Special Adviser to the governor on Local Content, Caleb Awatt, who disclosed this while speaking with journalists in Calabar, advised parents to take responsibility by ensuring their children are in school during official hours.
Awatt said that “we discovered that some children, even in uniform, hang around betting centres, football fields, and markets during school time.”
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He added that in an effort tackle the rising number of out-of-school children in Cross River State, the state government has also introduced education marshals to enforce compulsory school attendance.
The governor’s aide maintained that the education marshals will ensure that such acts are stopped and that every child of school age is in class.
He explained that the marshals would be deployed across schools and communities to ensure that children are not found loitering on the streets, in markets, or at recreational centres during school hours.
Awatt said that the initiative is part of Governor Bassey Otu’s effort to uphold the Child’s Rights Act and strengthen access to quality basic education.
He further explained that the new enforcement team complements the activities of the Citizens’ Academy, a tuition-free school established by the Otu administration to serve socially deprived children and provide them with access to standard education.
Currently, the academy has over 200 pupils on full scholarships covering tuition, uniforms, and learning materials, he said.
The governor’s aide thanked Nigerians in the diaspora for donating books and educational materials to support the academy, noting that the school still needs buses and additional classrooms to accommodate more pupils.
