Kaduna to jail parents of out-of-school children

Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna state on Wednesday reiterated that his administration would jail parents who refuse to enrol their children in school.

The governor, who made the remarks in Kaduna at the opening of a public hearing on the state’s social protection policy document, said his administration would not allow anyone to toy with the future of children in the state.

He said the state government is providing 12 years of free and compulsory education for children from primary to secondary school as such parents have no excuse not to send their children to school.

“Every parent that doesn’t send his child to school will go to jail because he destroys the future of his child without any reason.

“Every child under the age of five is entitled to free medical care for every kind of illness in our public health facility; antenatal care is also free for pregnant women,” the governor said.

Gov. El-Rufai said the state government would ensure the protection of the poor, the old, sick and persons living with disability in the state, adding that the state’s vision regarding social protection is to have a progressive society with necessary tools and environment for citizens to attain their full potentials.

According to him, social protection includes providing quality education, access to affordable health services, encouraging job creation and building infrastructure.

Lagos announces alternative routes over Eko Bridge closure

He added that social protection was also about upholding human dignity and promoting the ability of individuals amidst socio economic adversity.

The governor noted that most of the over 10 million people in the state were young people without jobs and who are mostly poor as such the government would continue to address their problems to the best of its ability.

“What we are trying to do in Kaduna state is to augment the federal government social protection programme by targeting more vulnerable people into the social protection umbrella.

“At the state level, we have targeted sectors that require the most critical interventions,” he added.

He disclosed that the state women empowerment fund was recently increased to N800 million, to enable vulnerable women to be self reliant and capable of accessing education, healthcare and skills.