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….passes secondary education amendment bill
From Adesuwa Tsan, Abuja
The Senate has directed the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to investigate the billing practices of mobile network operators, including MTN Nigeria, Globacom, Airtel Nigeria and 9mobilet over unjustified charges to subscribers.
It also called for regulations requiring operators to automatically reverse or refund airtime deducted from verifiably failed calls and qualifying network-related service interruptions.
This followed the adoption of a motion moved by Tahir Mungonu in plenary on Wednesday.
The lawmakers also passed the National Senior Secondary Education Act (Amendment) Bill, 2026, for third reading in plenary.
They further urged the NCC to establish an accessible and time-bound complaints and redress mechanism for subscribers seeking refunds or compensation over unjustified deductions and persistent service failures.
In addition, the commission was asked to conduct independent technical audits of operators’ billing systems to ensure that subscribers were charged only for actual and properly delivered call durations.
The Senate further urged the regulator to strengthen enforcement of Quality-of-Service standards and impose appropriate sanctions on operators whose persistent network deficiencies violate prescribed regulatory requirements.
It mandated its committee on communications to invite the NCC and relevant telecommunications operators to investigate the complaints, assess the financial losses suffered by subscribers and report back within four weeks with recommendations for further legislative and regulatory action.
The NCC was equally asked to report to the Senate within four weeks on its investigation and proposed measures to address the problem.
Debating the motion which moved to stop telecommunications operators from deducting subscribers’ airtime for failed and interrupted calls, demanding automatic refunds and stricter enforcement of service quality standards, tge Senate expressed concern over persistent complaints by telecommunications subscribers who lose airtime on unsuccessful, interrupted and dropped calls, despite not receiving the services they paid for.
The lawmakers observed that network failures frequently compel subscribers to make repeated calls to establish successful connections, resulting in additional expenses, while abrupt disconnections, inaudible conversations and network interruptions further compound the financial burden.
They maintained that Nigerians should not be made to pay for telecommunications services that have not been effectively delivered, noting that seemingly small deductions translate into substantial financial losses when aggregated across millions of subscribers.
The Senate expressed particular concern about the impact on low-income earners, traders, students and small business operators, who spend significant portions of their income on airtime.
It recalled that the Nigerian Communications Act, 2003, empowers the NCC to regulate the telecommunications industry, protect consumers and enforce acceptable standards of service delivery.
Meanwhile, the Senate passed for third reading the National Senior Secondary Education Act (Amendment) Bill, 2026 (SB. 1075), an Executive Bill seeking to address gaps in the implementation of the existing law and strengthen the regulation and coordination of public senior secondary education nationwide.
Presenting the report of the Senate Committee on Education (Basic and Secondary), Orji Kalu, said the proposed amendments were designed to strengthen the governance of the National Senior Secondary Education Commission, improve coordination between federal and state governments, promote accountability and ensure effective implementation of national education policies.
Kalu, who presented the report on behalf of the committee chairman, Usman Adamu, said the bill was referred to the committee after its consideration by the Senate on October 28, 2026.
He explained that although the Commission was established under the National Senior Secondary Education Commission Act No. 45, 2023, experience in implementing the legislation had exposed areas requiring legislative intervention.
“The proposed amendments are therefore intended to address these challenges and make the Act more effective in achieving its objective,” he said.
Kalu disclosed that the House of Representatives had also considered the bill and referred it to its Committee on Basic Education and Services, necessitating joint stakeholders’ engagement and clause-by-clause consultation to ensure uniformity in the legislative process.
Following the presentation, the Senate dissolved into the Committee of the Whole, considered the report clause by clause and adopted the committee’s recommendations before passing the bill for third reading.
The amended legislation is expected to provide a clearer framework for the Commission’s operations, particularly in setting standards, supporting curriculum implementation, promoting teacher development, monitoring schools and coordinating with state education authorities.
