Due to the Ramadan season, the Bauchi State government has mandated a five-week school closure. The decree states that schools will be closed from February 26, 2025, until the conclusion of Ramadan and the celebration of Salah. Classes are scheduled to resume on April 5.
According to the official academic calendar available to BrandSpur Nigeria news stories, the second term of the 2024–2025 academic year started on January 5, 2025. A five-week holiday from March 1 to April 5 was followed by a return to school from April 6 to April 29. The state administration, however, separated the term into two parts.
The first part ran from January 5 to February 28. Private school owners, especially those who identify as Christian, have not, however, taken kindly to this mandate. They contend that because of the diverse student body, the government’s decree should not prevent all pupils from receiving an education.
According to research, the state government had already ordered school closures. However, the government gave schools the freedom to make their own decisions following inputs from stakeholders in the education sector. Some schools were permitted to stay open, while others were permitted to close.
A source claimed: “This is not the first time the school will be ordered to close; we have had such a case before, and we set up a committee that liaised with the state education commissioner, who relaxed the order.”
It was discovered, meanwhile, that this time the state government adopted a different stance and insisted that all schools close throughout the month of Ramadan. A group known as “Christian-faith-based schools” in Bauchi has objected to the directive and is requesting intervention because they are unhappy with the government’s decision, especially the contentious calendar that suspends instruction for five weeks for kids in Nursery, Primary, and Secondary schools.
The group urged the Christian Association of Nigeria to lobby the state government on behalf of Christian students in a letter obtained, that was signed by Musa Bogoro Zakka, the 2015 Bauchi State Chairman of the National Association of Private School Owners and the immediate past Chairman of Private School Owners in Bauchi Local Government.
According to the letter: “We are writing on behalf of the Christian-faith-based schools in Bauchi State to bring to your attention to the implication of the Bauchi State Ministry of Education Academic Calendar 2024/2025 session for nursery/Primary and Secondary Schools which mandates all schools (private and public) to outrightly close during the Ramadan Fast, which begins from 1st March 5th April 2025.
“When we made an observation at the beginning, we were told that even CAN be part of the stakeholders who planned the calendar and we cannot be more Christians.
“However, as the days draw closer, the feedback from the Christian faith-based schools necessitates the request to have an audience with you and raise our concerns for a way forward,” it added.
According to the group, remaining at home for five (5) weeks and then returning to finish the term: “Will definitely affect the preparations of students towards external examinations (WAEC, NECO, and JAMB) since our syllabi may not be covered.”
Continuing, they stated: “Proposed calendar will surely damage the morals of students who are expected to return and start writing examinations, and continue another term without break for 14 weeks while teachers’ mark record and are still expected to discharge their duties simultaneously and seamlessly.”
Additionally, the group contended that the closure may undermine the state’s peaceful cohabitation of Muslim and Christian students by implying that all students, regardless of their religious affiliations, must remain at home. Noting that civil officials and postsecondary institutions were exempt from the requirement to halt operations during Ramadan, they further charged the state government with discriminating against private schools.
According to Musa Zakka, the Chairman of the Christian-faith-based school owners group, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) did not sufficiently assist them in their attempts to communicate with the state administration. He said: “We requested to meet with CAN, but we were never granted an audience; we wanted to reach the state government through the Christian Association of Nigeria, but we were not successful.”
Abraham Damina, the state’s CAN Chairman, denied being consulted or formally informed about the school closure, despite the state government’s purported claims that it consulted all religious leaders, including the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), before developing the calendar that allows for a five-week break for Ramadan. He revealed: “I was not consulted, neither was CAN consulted. Nobody from the state government reached out to me, I was not informed of the plan.”
Additionally, he denied being aware of the letter from the Christian organisation opposing the government’s five-week school closure. He refused to respond when asked about his thoughts on the subject, saying that he would have been in touch with the appropriate authorities before speaking in public if he had been aware of the school closures.
The Bauchi State Chairman for Private School Owners, Musa Hardo, defended the government’s choice in the meantime, saying: “The decision was reached based on the academic calendar drawn by the government, and reached after consultation with different groups including religious leaders.
“If you say the five-week break is because of Ramadan and you are angry, what about during Christmas. Should children now say they would not go on break during the period too?” he added.
Since schools must close during the time frame listed in the calendar, he pointed out that the ruling does not grant anyone an exception. Furthermore, according to Hardo, the chairman of CAN was asked to join the group that made decisions about the school schedule. Although he admitted that he was not personally at the meeting, he said that his secretary, speaking on behalf of the organisation, had informed him that the chairman of CAN had been invited.
Schools in Bauchi State Face Sanction Threats from the Government. Private schools have been receiving threats from the state government that they will face consequences if they do not comply with the school closure mandate.
According to a circular sent to private schools by the state ministry of education’s head of private schools, private schools are required to follow the government’s directive.
The circular partly reads: “I am directed to inform you that the official closing date of all Nursery, Primary and Secondary Schools in the State is Wednesday 26th February, 2025. All Private Schools must comply with the academic calendar. Although, the liberty of one week before or after, still stands (but with a concrete reason).
“The Local Government Taskforce on Private Schools are instructed by the Ministry to forward the name of school(s) that refuse to comply, for further necessary action, please,” it added.
The state has the highest percentage of children who lack an education. Examined data from the multidimensional poverty index published by the National Bureau of Statistics reveals this.
Bauchi ranks in the top six states with the largest percentage of children experiencing educational failure, with 74% of children in the state not having attained educational attainment. Additionally, according to NBS data, the state has the greatest percentage of children who do not receive an education (54%). This percentage exceeds even crisis-affected states like Zamfara (44%) and Borno (48%), and it is far higher than the national average of 34%.
