Critical Analysis On The Right Of Children To Education Under International Law: A Case Study On Nigeria

ABSTRACT

The importance of children education in any given society is very critical to the social and economic development of that society particularly for its future attainment, advancement and development. To deny the child its right to education is to deny the Nation its critical development economically, socially and otherwise. The need of the child ranging from feeding, clothing, accommodation and capacity hangs on the shoulder of adults, parents, guardians and the Government. Because of their vulnerability they cannot cater for themselves hence they must be provided guidance, training and care for meaningful contribution in the society. This task of educating the child for critical thinking and development lies on the society. It was in recognition of this, that the right of children education has been entrenched in several International and Domestic legal Instruments.However, there is the problem of implementation and enforcement of these extant laws as there are still so many uneducated, unfed and tattered children in the street engaged in hawking, child labour, begging and so on. And the resultant effect of this is that the social and economic landscape of the future generation in Nigeria cannot be guaranteed. In this regard therefore the objective of this paper is to bridge information gap by advocating adequate grassroots sensitization on the existence of this laws, make case for reforms of these enabling laws, and provide foundational research for further research in the knowledge area. The methodology of the research adopted is both doctrinal and empirical research methods. In the course of this research the finding of the research is that the various constitutive Instruments though adequate however, lack proper mechanism for effective enforcement and implementation of the provisions of the instruments and also the scourge of poverty renders most parents incapable of sustaining their wards through basic education. The research work recommends the provision of enforcement machinery that will ensure implementation, adequate grassroots sensitization on the childrens’ right to education and the need to address the issue of poverty by empowering the rural and urban poor through the provision of soft loans. It also recommended constitutional amendment to include child’s right to education as a fundamental right.