A bill to repeal the National Commission for Secondary Education Act passed its second reading. Bills to enact the Arbitration and Mediation Act have also been passed to provide a unified legal framework for resolving commercial disputes.

The Senate passed the NSSE Bill which sought to establish the National Senior Secondary Education Act 2022, to prescribe the basic requirements for senior secondary education in Nigeria.

The 6-3-3-4 system provided for the disarticulation of upper secondary education from lower secondary education, but while the lower secondary component was classified as basic education and benefited from regulatory oversight and an intervention of the Universal Basic Education Commission, the upper secondary level had no regulatory body.

In his main debate on the general principles, the sponsor of the bill, Senator Yahaya Abdullahi, said that the bill provides for the management of the National Commission for Higher Secondary Education Fund, as a source of government intervention to reposition senior secondary schools in Nigeria.

The bill, after review, was referred by Senate Speaker Ahmad Lawan to the Education (Basic and Secondary) Committee for further legislative work.

The Committee had four weeks to report to the chamber in plenary session.

Other bills have also been passed for House of Representatives approval by the chamber after clause-by-clause consideration by the Committee of the Whole.

Bills include the Federal Medical Center Ogoja, Cross-River State (Establishment) Bill, 2022; Federal Medical Center Igboora, Oyo State (Establishment) Bill, 2021; and Advertising Regulatory Council Bill, 2022.

The four endorsement bills were sponsored by the leader of the Senate representing Kebbi North, Yahaya Abdullahi.

In his main debate, the Leader of the Senate said that the Arbitration and Mediation Act, 2022 sought to repeal the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, Cap A18, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.

He disclosed that the legislation recognizes and applies the New York Convention on Foreign Arbitral Awards to any award made in Nigeria or any Contracting State arising from international commercial arbitration.

He added that he was also seeking application of the Singapore Convention on International Settlement Agreements Resulting from Mediation.

The Senate passed the four bills for passage after a clause-by-clause review by the House committee.

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