World education day: AMLI advocates school age entry regulation

The Executive Director, A Mother's Love Initiate (AMLI) Mrs. Hanatu Enwemadu, on Tuesday advocated for the regulation of children entry age into school to avoid abuse of the system.

AMLI is a Non Governmental Organisation (NGO) in Nigeria with focus on the African child's education, equal rights and opportunity in the digital environment.

The NGO works in collaboration with the Civil Society Actions Coalition on Education (CSACEFA) to achieve its objectives.

Enwemadu, spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on the 2024 World Education Day, said that, the regulation was essential to enable children reach the appropriate school age before entry for them to withstand the learning environment demands.

NAN reports that Jan. 24 of every year is set aside by the UN to mark the world education day. It is a stock taking programme on the way forward on child's education.

The theme of the 2024 world education day is "Learning for Lasting Peace"

The AMLI director frowned at hurried child syndrome that has become a tradition in the society advocated for a nationwide regulation of school entry age for the Nigerian child.

She said that, as the world marks International day for education, it was an opportunity to right the wrongs in the system for a better society.

“As the world focuses on the well-being of children through the lense of education with the theme, Learning For Lasting Peace, it is pertinent that Nigeria, Africa as a whole and the world at large focus on what manner of children will create lasting peace”.

"A mentally stable and balanced child is one who has been allowed to grow and develop at their natural pace.

"The mental health of children has its foundation in the appropriateness of school entry age. Children who are hurried through their learning and growth process eventually suffer deformity from 'The hurried child syndrome' and turn out to be psychologically, socially, and emotionally imbalanced”.

"The Nigeria government seeks to ensure that every Nigerian child returns to school and acquires basic literary and numeric skills at the age of 10"

"AMLI is advocating that children should only be allowed to enrol into age related classes. Appropriateness of maturity, age, and psyche of children in schools must be a concern to all.

"Non adherence to this approach contributes to the learning crisis currently affecting education in Nigeria", she said.

She said that as economic pressure sways and parents part with their children at an early age, government should ensure that such practice was halted for the common good.

She appealed to the National Orientation Agency (NOA) and others to ensure that Nigerians were sensitised on the implications of under-aged enrollment which she viewed as hurrying children in their formative years.

She described the practice as a form of child abuse that could result in traumatic experiences that leaves an adverse effect on the person.

She noted that the effects Rob's of on the individual adulthood which was a minus on the society.

She appealed to education development partners, donors and NGOS to extend interventions to all parts of the country for an even development.