Why public officials send children abroad –Senate panel chair

The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Tertiary Institutions
and TETFund, Senator Jibrin Barau, has dismissed the call by
Nigerians that children of public officials should be restricted to
the country’s public schools.

The lawmaker said Nigeria needed to have socio-cultural
exchanges with other countries.

According to Barau, any law that would force public officers to
send their children to schools in the country was not good for
Nigeria.

He noted that there were students from Cameroon and Niger
Republic who also studied in Nigeria.

He said, “Making a law to bar people from taking their children
outside to study is something that will not be good for our
country. We know that it is always good to mingle with people from
other parts of the world when it comes to the issue of
education.

“You cannot be an island to yourself; interaction is very
necessary. We also allow people from other parts of the world to
learn from here. You are aware that students from Cameroon, Niger
and other parts of the world come here. We have exchange students
who come from European nations to this country. You must have that
interaction.”

Barau said Nigeria should develop universities and educational
institutions to the level that those who sent their children abroad
would patronise institutions in the country.

He said ASUU failed to report back to the Senate after the
negotiation it spearheaded between the union and the Federal
Government failed.

While admitting that ASUU once wrote to the Senate about its
frustrations with the negotiation, he said the union wrote to the
legislature after it had resolved to go on strike.

He added, “We captured some aspect of their grievances in the
(supplementary) budget we passed immediately after the negotiation
was concluded. They raised the issues that had to do with their
allowances. The allowances were captured in the supplementary
budget that we passed as of that time.

The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Tertiary Institutions
and TETFund, Senator Jibrin Barau, has dismissed the call by
Nigerians that children of public officials should be restricted to
the country’s public schools.

The lawmaker said Nigeria needed to have socio-cultural
exchanges with other countries.

According to Barau, any law that would force public officers to
send their children to schools in the country was not good for
Nigeria.

He noted that there were students from Cameroon and Niger
Republic who also studied in Nigeria.

He said, “Making a law to bar people from taking their children
outside to study is something that will not be good for our
country. We know that it is always good to mingle with people from
other parts of the world when it comes to the issue of
education.

“You cannot be an island to yourself; interaction is very
necessary. We also allow people from other parts of the world to
learn from here. You are aware that students from Cameroon, Niger
and other parts of the world come here. We have exchange students
who come from European nations to this country. You must have that
interaction.”

Barau said Nigeria should develop universities and educational
institutions to the level that those who sent their children abroad
would patronise institutions in the country.

He said ASUU failed to report back to the Senate after the
negotiation it spearheaded between the union and the Federal
Government failed.

While admitting that ASUU once wrote to the Senate about its
frustrations with the negotiation, he said the union wrote to the
legislature after it had resolved to go on strike.

He added, “We captured some aspect of their grievances in the
(supplementary) budget we passed immediately after the negotiation
was concluded. They raised the issues that had to do with their
allowances. The allowances were captured in the supplementary
budget that we passed as of that time.