Kwara: No going back on policy allowing hijab in public schools

The Kwara state government says there is no going back on its policy allowing Muslims in all public schools in the state to wear hijab.

According to NAN, Sa’adatu Moddibo-Kawu, the state commissioner for education and human capital development, spoke during a meeting with stakeholders on Tuesday.

The meeting, which involved Christian and Muslim stakeholders from Ijagbo in Oyun LGA, was held at the ministry’s headquarters in Ilorin, the state capital.

In a statement by Yakub Aliagan, the ministry’s press secretary, the state government said its policy statement allowing hijab in all public schools, including grant-aided ones, remains binding.

“This conforms with the judicial pronouncements of the courts of law and the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” it said.

The statement quoted the commissioner as appealing to both Muslim and Christian leaders to allow peace to reign in the state.

The commissioner also directed the school heads of Oyun Baptist High School in Ijagbo to implement the policy statement on the use of the hijab in public schools.

The commissioner warned that anybody trying to sabotage the peaceful coexistence among the people of Kwara would be made to face the full wrath of the law.

Last year, the state was in the news after controversy ensued over the use of hijab in public schools, especially those that are referred to as grant-aided missionary schools.

The controversy had prompted the state government to order the closure of the affected schools.

It also degenerated into violence on March 17 in Ilorin, where Christians and Muslims engaged in a confrontation following the decision of the state government to reopen the schools earlier closed.