As Nigeria joins the rest of Africa and the world to mark International Day of the African Child, it has imperative to advance advocacy efforts for the African child, with charity beginning at home – Nigeria.
Let’s take you through this peep into the legal perspective to basic education in Nigeria.
The Nigerian Constitution supports the right to basic education primarily through Section 18, which directs the government to ensure equal and adequate educational opportunities at all levels and to strive to eradicate illiteracy by providing free, compulsory, and universal primary education as practicable.
Although Section 18 is part of the Directive Principles of State Policy and not immediately justiciable, it establishes a clear policy obligation on the government.
This constitutional provision is reinforced by the Compulsory, Free Universal Basic Education (UBE) Act of 2004, which legally mandates all levels of government to provide free, compulsory, and universal basic education to every child of primary and junior secondary school age.
The Act also creates the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) to oversee implementation.
Additionally, Nigeria’s domestication of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, which guarantees the right to education, further strengthens the legal framework supporting this right.
Courts in Nigeria have interpreted these combined provisions to make the right to basic education enforceable, allowing citizens to hold the government accountable if it fails to fulfill its obligations.
In summary, the Constitution, supported by the UBE Act and international law domesticated into Nigerian law, places a legal duty on the government to provide free and compulsory basic education, making this right actionable and enforceable in Nigeria.