The Senate on Tuesday in plenary session passed a bill to provide legal support for the establishment of the Nigerian army University Biu in Borno.
The Chairman of the Nigerian army Committee, Senator Ali Ndume (APC-Borno South), said that the bill’s passage followed the Committee’s consideration of the report point by point.
Ndume said that the Committee, while conducting legislative work on the bill, took into account “areas that are in conflict with other existing laws, those that are related to security, and those that are ambiguous.”
According to the Deputy, the bill, if it is adopted into legal force, will contribute to the development of scientific research and other means of promoting knowledge and their application, in particular, in military equipment and software.
He said that the institution would be engaged in mid-to high-level human resource development in the areas of enhancing the technological capabilities of civilians, evaluating military policies, logistics and strategies.
Meanwhile, the Senate also called on the Federal Ministry of education to step up its outreach programs and draw the attention of traditional and religious scholars to Almajiri’s plight.
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The Senate declared the need to enroll them in the universal basic education system to solve the problem of out-of-school children in the country.
The call was contained in the recommendations of the report of Sen. Akon Eyakenyi (PDP-Akwa-Ibom South), the Vice Chairman of the Senate Committee on Education (Basic and Secondary).
Eyakenyi said that “the Almajiris, who were predominant in the North, constituted the larger number of out-of-school children roaming the streets begging for alms and food in Nigeria.
The lawmaker said the the Almajiri pupils were covered by the intervention policy and programmes of the Federal Government through Universal Basic Education Act, 2004.
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“The implementation of the UBEC Act, 2004 requires maximum collaborations with the State Governments and indeed the domestication of the Act through the State Legislatures,” she said.
She said that Nigeria had obtained 611 million dollars from the World Bank Financed Programme-Better Education Service Delivery for All (BESDA) – as a credit to specifically address the problem of Out-of-School children.
The lawmaker, however, stressed that the optimal operation and implementation of the BESDA Programme, as being implemented by UBEC in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Education, required the efforts of all stakeholders to succeed.
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