The lawmaker representing Akwa Ibom South district, Senator Eyakenyi Etim, has faulted the amount of fund allocated to the education sector in the budget proposal for the 2020 fiscal year.
She described the money as “not encouraging” during Thursday’s plenary on the second day of debate on the 2020 Budget estimates in the Senate chamber of the National Assembly in Abuja.
Senator Etim noted that while the executive and parliamentary “have the best of leadership”, the country must improve education if it wants to grow.
Her colleague from Oyo South district, Senator Kola Balogun, supported the lawmaker’s position and called for better funding of the sector.
The Senate confirmed the positions of the lawmakers on its Twitter handle:
“The budget for education is not encouraging for a country with the highest number of out of school children in the world.”- Senator Eyakenyi Etim.
— The Nigerian Senate (@NGRSenate) October 10, 2019
“Education is the foundation of human development. In a country with 10.1million out-of-school kids, I believe we need to do more.”- Senator Kola Balogun.
— The Nigerian Senate (@NGRSenate) October 10, 2019