By Cletus Asuquo
CALABAR (CONVERSEER) – The Cross River State Government has introduced Education Marshals to enforce compulsory school attendance and tackle the rising number of out-of-school children across the state.
The Special Adviser to the Governor on Local Content, Caleb Awatt, disclosed this while speaking with journalists in Calabar on Thursday, saying the initiative is part of Governor Bassey Otu’s effort to uphold the Child’s Rights Act and strengthen access to quality basic education.
Awatt said 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.
“We discovered that some children, even in uniform, hang around betting centres, football fields, and markets during school time,” Awatt said, adding, “The Education Marshals will ensure that such acts are stopped and that every child of school age is in class.”
He 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.
According to him, the academy, located at Ikot Ishie, Calabar, currently has over 200 pupils on full scholarships covering tuition, uniforms, and learning materials.
“About 15 of our pupils who were once out of school have written their Common Entrance examinations and are now in secondary school,” Awatt noted, stressing that, “This shows that the governor’s commitment to inclusive education is already producing results.”
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Awatt also revealed that the Deputy Governor recently visited the Citizens’ Academy and pledged to support the initiative with logistics and infrastructure to ensure its sustainability.
He added that the state government is working with the Chief Judge of Cross River State to establish mobile courts that will handle cases of child neglect and enforce compliance with school attendance regulations.
“Any child found in the wrong place at the wrong time will be apprehended and handed over to the appropriate authorities,” he said, advising that, “Parents must take responsibility to ensure their children are in school during official hours.”
The governor’s aide thanked Nigerians in the diaspora for donating books and educational materials to support the academy but noted that the school still needs buses and additional classrooms to accommodate more pupils.
“This is a collective effort to build a better future for our children. We urge well-meaning individuals and organisations to partner with us to sustain this vision,” he said.
