Formal Education Should Be Free -By Abimbola Elizabeth

According to Elin Nordegren he said; “Education is one thing no one can take away from you.”

Education is a purposeful act directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness and honesty. There is a lot formal education does to human kind. It contribute to the development of better people around the globe. Unfortunately, what should have been a free access is now been restricted. Whereby only the rich are able to get a quality formal education.

Back then, before now, there is an approach called the Social Demand Approach ( SDA) which implies that Education should be free for all. This approach sees that Education is the right of every child who fall within the schooling age. This approach was adopted in 1955 by Chief Obafemi Awolowo under the Action Congress party of the western region stipulating that every child who has the ability and hunger for education should be given the right formal quality education. But now, children have no access to the formal education, education that is meant to be for all is now restricted. We see children who fall within the schooling age hawking things on the main road, playing on the street, sleeping under the bridge, washing plate at restaurants where as they should be in school learning.

In 1975, under the military lead administration of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo the lunching of Universal Primary Education ( U.P.E) could be regarded as an example of social demand approach. The essence of U.P.E was to promote high level of literacy and school enrollment. In other words, every child should be given the right quality primary education.

Also, in 1999 Universal Basic Education (U.B.E) was lunched stating that every child between the age of 6-14 should be given the right to education. This approach was lunched by the civilian government of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo. The essence of U.B.E was to ensure that there is no child labour or child exploitation.

Unfortunately, the free education over the past age is not the same in this present age. Here in this present age we see child labour and exploitation due to no formal education. The government of this present age are no longer concerned about the “leaders of tomorrow”. The public school that is meant to be free still collect a token money from the parents such as registration fee, PTA fee ecetera which was not so in the past ages. I have seen an instance whereby a child did not go to school because he does not have a textbook. All these should be taken care of by the government if truly we say the school is a public school. In the past years all of these things like; school uniform, sandals textbooks and even free food are provided by the government.

I appeal to the government that Education should be free like in the previous ages so as to kick against child labour and exploitation and to build a bright future for our great country. If education should be free in our present age as it was in the past age the country will develop. The dreams of the leaders of tomorrow will come to pass and we shall experience a huge development In our country.