The Ondo State Governor, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, has stated that birth certificate will henceforth be a prerequisite for the enrollment of any child into primary schools across the state.
Akeredolu, who made the disclosure on Tuesday at a stakeholder meeting on birth registration in Akure the Ondo State Capital, added that the National Population Commission’s birth certificate yardstick will also apply to children under the age of five seeking free treatment in government-owned hospitals.
According to the governor, the measure became imperative as it would be difficult to plan for the unregistered children, hence the need for parents to have their children registered for accelerated development.
“If we do not have childbirth registration, we cannot plan properly. Every child must have a genuine birth certificate now before entering primary schools in Ondo State,” he said.
Akeredolu, who described the programme as great initiative appealed to communities and religious leaders as well as, NPC to improve on advocacy and awareness of birth registration in their domains.
Earlier, the wife of the governor, Betty Anyanwu-Akeredolu, expressed displeasure that almost half of the children under five years in the state were not considered in socio-economic planning and are therefore at risk of lacking access to basic social amenities that could ensure adequate child development.