No school enrolment for children without birth certificate — Akeredolu

The Governor of Ondo State, Mr Rotimi Akeredolu, on Tuesday, declared that birth certificate would henceforth be one of the criteria for enrolment of pupils into primary schools in the state.

He added that birth certificate would be a requirement for children under the age of five to access free medical treatment in the state.

Akeredolu made the declaration during the stakeholders’ meeting on birth registration with the theme, “Accelerated Birth Registration,” initiated by the governor’s wife.

The governor said the decision became necessary to assist the state in planning for the future of the children.

He noted that lack of a functioning birth registration system had made it impossible for both federal and state governments to adequately plan for the citizens, especially children.

He said, “The birth certificate would provide documentary evidence required for relevant occasions, such as school enrolment, voting and graduation; it will also give right of identity to the children.”

The governor called on community leaders to play a positive role in ensuring that new births were registered in their various communities.

He called for a synergy between the National Population Commission and the Ondo State Primary Health Care Development Board to ensure accelerated birth registration in the state.

Speaking at the initiative, the governor’s wife, Mrs Betty Akeredolu, described the registration of the birth as the first right of a child that gives the child access to many other state privileges.