A bill seeking to amend the Universal Basic Education Commission Act has passed second reading at the Senate.
The bill was sponsored by Senator Adamu Lawal Usman, representing Kaduna Central Senatorial District.
The proposed amendments, which affect sections 2, 3, 7, 9, 11, and 16 of the act, aim to enhance early childhood education, regulate the appointment of members of the commission, and ensure adherence to guidelines by implementing agencies.
Furthermore, the bill proposes an increase in funding from two to five per cent, as well as the direct channelling of intervention funds for local government areas to their respective education sectors.
Having passed the second reading, the bill has been referred to the Senate Committee on Secondary and Basic Education for further legislative action.
Meanwhile, a bill to amend the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000 to provide for compulsory counselling and training for convicts of corruption-related offences has scaled second reading in the House of Representatives.
The bill is sponsored by Moshood Kayode, representing Lagos Island.
Leading the debate during plenary, he said the bill seeks to amend Section 67 of the Principal Act by expanding it with additional three provisions which stipulate that magistrates and judges shall not only sentence convicts of corruption-related offences to imprisonment and/or fines but shall also impose on them a mandatory period of counselling and training.
Speaking on the general principles of the bill, Kayode clarified that the compulsory anti-corruption counselling and training of persons convicted of corruption-related offences are in recognition of the strong connection that exists between mental disposition and the primitive accumulation of wealth.
