On abuse of children

The Greek philosopher, Plato, once said that if a man neglects education, he walks lame to the end of his life. The need for an African child to stand tall in life led to the agitation of nearly ten thousand black students marching the streets of Soweto, South Africa to protest the low quality of their education on June 16, 1976.

And in their hour, countries all over the world celebrate the Day of the African Child annually. The UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), revealed that one out of five children in sub-Saharan Africa between the ages of about six and 11 are out of school while one out of three between the ages of about  12 and 14  are also not enrolled in school.

Localising these facts better shows that Nigeria has the highest number of out of school children in the world. This was not contradicted by the government as the Federal Ministry of Education through its Permanent Secretary, Adamu Hussaini, last year revealed that 10.5 million children are out of school in Nigeria, with a larger percentage of this figure being girls, street children and the children of nomadic groups.

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Despite the heavy funding allocated to assist the education sector by the World Bank, UNESCO and other nonprofit organisations  across the world, Africa does not only have a high rising number of uneducated youth but still  have the poorest  education standard compared to other regions of the world.

This year the theme of the Day of the African Child is “Leave No Child Behind for Africa’s Development.” Quality education seems to be the key to put every other vice affecting the African child to an end. The engagement of a child in any work that deprives him or her ability to attend regular school is referred to as child labour.

It is disheartening to see children hawk items on the street when they are supposed to be in school. Some of them who go to school hawk till late at night. The education of the African child, if well managed, is an effective component of any effort to eliminate this exploitative act that is rampant in Africa.

All African countries are faced with the challenge of child marriage. The act, which affects both boys and majorly girls, is mostly caused by pressure from poor parents and relatives, with lack of alternatives. A way to put an end to the menace is to educate the African child to be able to maintain a healthy family and at the same time be of service to humanity.

Sesan Sodunke,

Abeokuta