Over 1500 children on the streets of A’Ibom-CLO

Despite free and compulsory free education Programme initiated by Akwa Ibom state government for primary and secondary schools, over 1,500 children are still roaming the streets in the states

Addressing Journalists as parts of events marking this year’s World Street Children in Uyo thursday , the state chairman of Civil Liberty Organization ( CLO), Comrade Franklyn Isong said it sad to see the huge number of street children in the state.

Isong therefore tasked the Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Welfare to come out with well-articulated social intervention programmes designed to keep children off the street in line with United Nations Child Rights Acts.

Comrade Isong listed factors that contributed to children roaming the street to include peer group influence, abject poverty, poor family planning, African belief system and fake prophesies that stigmatize children as witches as parents are encouraged to abandon their children in their fake ministrations.

He said though there is free and compulsory education policy in the state, there was no effective monitoring by Inspectorate unit of the Ministry of Education to check children roaming the street during school hours.

“The state Ministry of Education should step up plans to check children roaming the street  during school hours to reduce number children on the street,” he said.

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