Kwara gov’t reopens school shut down in February over Hijab crisis

The Kwara Ministry of Education and Human Capital Development has announced the reopening of the Oyun Baptist High School, Ijagbo, on Friday, June 3.

This is contained in a statement issued by Mrs Kemi Adeosun, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, on Wednesday in Ilorin.

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According to the statement, “teachers and students are directed to return to their classrooms while the government white paper committee continues efforts to address issues related to the recent disturbance in the public school.”

The school was closed down in February 2022 over disagreement on the use of hijab on the school premises.

The statement reiterated the government’s position that any Muslim schoolgirl who desires to wear the hijab is allowed to do so in all public schools.

”This includes Oyun Baptist High School, Ijagbo, which is grant-aided by the state government.

”The Ministry’s decision to reopen the school is one of the government’s multi-prong approaches to return normalcy to the school.

”All stakeholders in the area are urged to give peace a chance and to respect the law.

”The government will not hesitate to shut the school again, among other things, if anything threatens the safety of the little children.

”The Ministry welcomes all our students back to school, and urges them to maximise their time in the classrooms, while relevant authorities also help them to fill any gap,” the statement read. (NAN)