- Say it will affect students preparing for WASSCE, NECO, UTME
By Gabriel Dike
On Tuesday, stakeholders came hard on state governors who directed the closure of schools for five weeks because of the Muslim fasting period, arguing that the decision would affect students preparing for external examinations.
In their reactions to the directive, the National Parent Teacher Association of Nigeria (NAPTAN), the Association for Formidable Educational Development (AFED) and Education Rights Campaign (ERC) asked governors to reverse the decision to close schools because of the ongoing Ramadan.
NAPTAN, AFED and ERC said the decision would affect the preparation of students for the May/June 2025 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE), Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) and the Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE).
The National President of NAPTAN, Alhaji Haruna Danjuma, described the decision as sad and said that it would create confusion in the system.
He reminded the governors that not all students and even teachers are Muslims and kicked against the politicization of education.
He said, “If the governors close schools, including private ones for Ramadan, let them remember that not all students are Muslim. What happened to children that are Christian?
“Currently, our children are preparing for WASSCE, UTME and SSCE. It is not the right decision. Why don’t the state governors close the whole state? With this development, students will not be able to cover the syllabus. That is why we tell them not to politicize education.”
According to him, with the decision of the state governors, parents can sue the proprietors of private schools because they have a contract with them, and it is a breach of contract to keep their wards at home for five weeks.
He asked: “What will the children do at home for five weeks? We suffered from COVID-19, insecurity and now Ramadan. We are asking the governors to reverse the decision because it is counterproductive.”
Danjuma wondered how private school proprietors would pay teachers for not working for five weeks since the governors can afford to pay their teachers.
In his reaction to the governors’ decision to close schools for five weeks, AFED President, Emmanuel Orji said: “I am not happy with this development but what can people in our status do as the 1999 Constitution enlist education on the concurrent list, which clearly puts it on the table of the governors.
“I am sad about the negative impact of this long holiday. Within this period, no schooling, we must not forget that some of these students are preparing for external examinations, such as those in SSS 111, JSS111, Basic 6 and UTME.
“When we consider the fact that in Saudi Arabia and other Arab world, where one can consider as the headquarters of Islamic faith, they did not shut down schools.
“One would then begin to worry as to why this decision is taken.”
Orji said spiritual exercises in Nigeria such as Ramadan and Christmas should be such a time that must integrate and reflect our faith without necessarily shutting down human growth systems such as schools especially with the myriad of challenges facing the nation’s education sector.
He added, “UNESCO said there are over 20 million out-of-school children in Nigeria. Tracking them back to school has remained a huge challenge and one is further creating opportunities for those in schools to join the number out there and some may not eventually return back.”
The AFED president appealed to the governors not to disrupt the academic calendar. “Let’s look at the challenges this decision would pose on the students, who are already considered backwards in terms of curriculum coverage in some states,” he stated.
The National Mobilization Officer of ERC, Adaramoye Michael, condemned the decision and said it reflects the lack of concern for the growth of education by the governors of these states.
“It is not surprising that these states have a combined population of over three million out-of-school children.
“These are governors who should be bothered about how to improve the quality of education in their states and make it attractive to more students; instead, they have halted the academic journey of over 11 million students.
“It’s necessary to state that we live in a secular country, where the state must separate itself from religion without appearing to favour any religion over the other.
“If the governors are genuinely interested in lessening the work burden of workers, especially those observing the Ramadan fast, what ought to have been done is to employ more teachers to ensure that the burden on the teachers who are always overworked is lessened.
“This will reduce the work time and burden and also ensure academic activities are carried out seamlessly during the Ramadan period.
“However, this approach must be sustained beyond the Ramadan period to ensure improved education.”
He explained that the decision to shut down the school has infringed on the rights of non-Muslim students to get an education, arguing, “The governors do not have any constitutional authority to make decisions that will deny many students the right to education.”
Michael insisted that the governors must reverse the decision, stating, “There are many students preparing for UTME, WAEC and NECO exams who need access to education facilities and learning.”
According to him, the quality of education in Nigeria is terribly poor and the government should be bothered about how to improve it, which can only be done through adequately funding and also ensuring democratic practices in institutions.