By Ife Osemedua
365Daily– A bill seeking to stop public officials from sending their children to schools abroad has failed to get approval of the House of Representatives.
Sponsored by Hon. Sergius Ogun, the proposed law which was raised during plenary on Thursday, March 3, 2022, sought to provide that the Minister of Education must give approval before any public officer can send his/her child or ward to foreign schools.
Ogun, who is from Edo State, said that such officers must provide proof of ability to pay the school fees of his/her wards.
A breakdown of the failed Bill showed in Section 4 that a public officer shall not send his ward or children oversea for studies without declaration of interest, subject to approval.
Section 6 of the bill provided the steps for getting approval, “A public officer declaring interest in sending his ward or child abroad for further studies shall submit the following documents for consideration.
According to him, the bill had the capacity to improve funds allocated to public schools by forcing the public officers to invest in the education sector for the benefit of the children..
“These are the officers who should take responsibility for building our public institutions,” he said.
It was rejected by the House when majority of the lawmakers voted against its passage.