Transcript MDGs and the Law: Creating enabling legislative environments

MDGs and the Law: Creating
enabling legislative environments
International Parliamentary Conference on the
Millennium Development Goals 'Reaching for 2015:
Governance, Accountability and the Role of the
Parliamentarian', Houses of Parliament, London.
29th November 2011
Wale Samuel, Policy Advisor, Civil Society Action Coalition
on Education For All (CSACEFA), Nigeria.
Objectives
• To review the existing legal framework and relevant instruments
that govern the provision of education in Nigeria.
• To show how civil society in Nigeria is using the law to secure the
right to education and showcase the ECOWAS Community Court of
Justice ruling on funding and monitoring of education financing.
• To provide comments on how the Civil Society works to ensure a
supportive legal environment to achieve MDG 2.
• To showcase best practice from Nigeria that could be adapted in
other jurisdictions.
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Introduction
• Less than 4 years to the 2015 MDG landmark, much
remains to be done to achieve universal primary
education.
• Progress has been far too slow and on present trends
the 67 million children out of school in the world today
are unlikely to be learning in the coming years.
• In spite of its huge oil wealth, Nigeria has an official 8.8
million children out of school; more than any other
nation, including China.
• The figure may be as high as 19.2 million – nearly half
of all Nigeria’s primary school age children.
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The Nigerian Legislative Agenda
for the MDGs
• The 7th Session of the Nigerian House of
Representatives (2011-2015) emphasizes
the
importance
of
amending
the
Constitution to address several areas that
may fast-track the attainment of the MDGs.
(Legislative Agenda, 2011).
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Legal Framework
• An area of concern for MDG2 is found in Chapter
2 of the Nigerian constitution (1999), under the
fundamental objectives and directives principles
of state policy, section 18(1), sub section 3.
• It says that Government shall, when practicable
provide: free, compulsory, and universal primary
education; free secondary education; free
university education; and free adult literacy
programme..
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Education not a Legal Right
• Under the constitutional agreement education is “a
mere directive policy of the government and not a
legal entitlement of the citizens.” (UBEC, 2010).
• The right to free and compulsory education in Nigeria
is not ‘justiceable’: you cannot go to court to seek
enforcement like other rights in the constitution.
• The impracticability of funding education provides a
rationale for irregular and inadequate funding.
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Subsidiary Legislations
• Nigeria has been a signatory to the Convention
on the Rights of the Child (CRC) since 1991;
• The African Charter on the Rights and welfare
of the Child since 2001;
• Passed its version of the declarations in The
Child’s Right Act (CRA) in 2003.
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The UBE Act
• The legislation dealing with basic education is the
UBE Act 2004, more properly called the
Compulsory Free Universal Basic Education Act.
• Section 2 of the Act says that every government
in Nigeria shall provide free, compulsory, and
universal basic education for every child of
primary and junior secondary school age.
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The UBE Act (2)
• The Act specifies penalties for breaching this
provision, which includes a fine and/or a term
of imprisonment for parents/guardians found
to have breached the law.
• Sadly, no one has been convicted by this law
even though millions of children freely roam
the streets without an education.
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The Economic Community of West African
States (ECOWAS) Ruling
• ECOWAS Community Court of Justice’s premier ruling
(2010) affirms the legal right to education in Nigeria.
• It was filed by the Socio-Economic Rights &
Accountability Project (SERAP), a CSACEFA partner.
• The ruling emphasized and put a superior seal on the
fact that the Nigerian Federal Government must
provide as of right, free and compulsory education to
every Nigerian child.
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The ECOWAS Ruling (2).
• The court ruled that the UBEC (the Federal
organ) failed to discharge its legal
responsibility.
• This responsibility involves the effective
monitoring of resources meant for education.
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Denial of Rights to Education
• The ruling noted that the failure of UBEC to act and
halt the financial impunities in the education sector
was tantamount to a denial of the right of the
Nigerian Child to education.
• That the right to education can be enforced before
the Court.
• It dismissed all objections brought by the Federal
Government, that education is “.. not a legal
entitlement of the citizens” (UBEC, 2010).
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Denial of Rights (2)
• The ruling further averred that alleged theft of
the UBE funds has negatively impacted on quality
of teachers, access, and learning materials in
schools.
• Nearly 20,000 teachers in Kwara State of Nigeria
had been made to sit tests in English and
Mathematics designed for 9 and 10 year olds.
• Only 7 of the teachers could reach the minimum
attainment level.
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Success story from Nigeria
(Way forward on the ruling)
• CSACEFA and UBEC are building a partnership to stop
the massive misappropriation of funds meant for
education at the state level.
• The partnership is known as the Community
Accountability and Transparency Initiative (CATI).
• Using specific guidelines, which show project locations,
the CATI process ensures that communities get
involved in holding the Federal, State, and Contractors
accountable for education disbursements .
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CATI (A Best Practice)
• CATI puts the search light on compliance with
guidelines for access to funds utilization
relating to infrastructural and teacher
development.
• A series of CATI booklets covering project
details per state have been published, and are
being made available to all stakeholders.
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Conclusion
• The ECOWAS ruling is an excellent opportunity to
protect education financing through judicial means.
• However it would take the strengthening of CATI to
drastically reduce the negative impact of corruption on
the right to education of the Nigerian child.
• Strengthening CATI would ensure that governments at
all levels are made accountable to Nigerians.
• This becomes urgent in view of the fact that Nigeria is
obviously in jeopardy of not meeting MDG2 by 2015.
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Thank You
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