Stakeholders in Afikpo Local Government Area (LGA) of Ebonyi state have stopped children from ages six to fifteen from being seen outside school premises from eight in the morning to two in the afternoon, Mondays to Fridays during school sessions.
The proclamation was made at a mandatory meeting of men and women of all age grades in the town on September 23 with representatives of the state government and Afikpo local government council in attendance.
children seen outside the school premises would be apprehended, and their parents or immediate community fined N5,000. Teachers found outside the school premises shall also be apprehended, and the same fine of N5,000 shall apply.
Meanwhile, speaker of the Esaa Elders Traditional Council, Christopher Abagha Egwu, lamented the falling standards of education in Afikpo.
“Education was the comparative advantage of the Afikpo man. Today, we have lost that advantage. Our young people are dropping out of schools in droves and the performance of our students is disheartening. This is an existential crisis to the Afikpo man,” Egwu stressed.
The meeting also resolved to set up a task force to implement the ban of out-of-school children, and entrusted this to the youth age grade for effective implementation.
The age grade shall also be responsible for bringing sanity to the menace of youths above fifteen years old who are not in education, vocational training or under employment.
According to the resolution, no young person under eighteen years old shall be allowed to ride commercial motorcycles in Afikpo.
Additionally, all shops and structures that sell illicit drugs were ordered to be closed down.
Leader of the youth age grade, Obila Ode and a school teacher, Mrs. Nkechinyere Oko, both assured that the ban would be effectively implemented.
