* To prosecute defaulting parents, guardians
The Abia State Government has announced free and compulsory education for all children in the State irrespective of their origin.
The free education, which will commence from January 2025, will run from primary one to Junior Secondary School 3 in all public schools.
The Commissioner for Information, Prince Okey Kanu, disclosed this while briefing the press after the State Executive Council meeting.
He warned that parents and guardians who flouted the new policy would face prosecution.
“In line with the Abia Child’s Rights Law 2006, it’s now an offence for parents not to send their children or wards to school because Government has made education free and compulsory,” Kanu warned.
The policy, according to him, is pursuant to the quest by the Governor Alex Otti-led administration, to deliver quality and affordable education to the State.