Cynthia Ezegwu
The Gombe State Government has warned that it will begin prosecuting parents and guardians who fail to send their children to school.
Chairman of the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), Babaji Babadidi, gave the warning on Monday at the launch of the 2025/2026 School Enrolment Campaign in Amada, Akko Local Government Area.
Babadidi said defaulting parents risk fines or jail terms under Section 19(2) of the SUBEB Amendment Law 2021.
“Every parent should ensure that their child or ward attends and completes primary, junior and senior secondary education,” he said. “Any parent who contravenes the law commits an offence and is liable, upon conviction, to pay a fine or serve a one-month prison sentence. Subsequent convictions also attract a substantial fine or imprisonment for a term of two months.”
He explained that while the state had earlier adopted a carrot approach by providing free education, legal sanctions would be enforced if enrolment targets were not met. The government has set a goal of enrolling 400,000 children into primary schools this academic session.
Commissioner for Education, Prof. Aishatu Maigari, disclosed that Gombe currently has over 700,000 out-of-school children. She noted that the North-East accounts for 15 per cent of Nigeria’s 18.2 million out-of-school children.
READ ALSO: Police Rescue Two Abandoned Babies, Arrest Teenagers for Rape in Gombe
“We cannot sit and fold our arms while our children remain out of school. Every child will receive a quality education and also learn a trade, which does not necessarily mean working for the government. An educated person can become an employer of labour through skills and entrepreneurship,” she said.
Maigari added that the state had invested heavily in improving access to education and urged parents to reciprocate by sending their wards to school. She noted that the government had provided exercise books, school bags, and other learning materials to support pupils.
Chief of UNICEF’s Field Office in Bauchi, Dr. Nuzhat Rafique, described the number of out-of-school children in Gombe as alarming, stressing that every child has a right to quality education.
The Emir of Gona, Alhaji Umar Abdulsalam, commended the state government’s efforts and pledged his council’s support in mobilising parents for the campaign.
The event also featured the symbolic enrolment of school-age children into Primary One and out-of-school children into post-basic education.