Muslim students petition FG over lewd, sexual contents in school textbooks

The Muslim Students’ Society of Nigeria (MSSN) B-Zone says it is appalled by the content in some Mathematics, English and Social Science textbooks used in many Nigerian secondary schools today.

The group, in a letter to the Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, said these textbooks had been corrupted to include lewd and sexually explicit matters “in order to sexualize young students.”

The letter, titled ‘Inclusion of Sex and Homosexuality in Nigerian Primary and Secondary School Textbooks: A Threat to Morality and Attack on Cultural/Religious Values’, was signed by the group’s coordinator, Qaasim Odedeji and General-Secretary, Abdul Jalil Abdur Razaq and dated 15th May.

It noted that a typical Mathematics question for primary school pupils was “20 condoms+5 condoms-2 condoms equals”.

The MSSN also said some of the textbooks promote abortion, LGBT, masturbation and safe sex with condoms.

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“We believe that this is a blatant violation of the cultural and religious values of the Nigerian people, particularly the Muslim community. The MSSN, being a major stakeholder in the Nigerian education system, cannot but express her grave concern about the situation,” they said.

It called on the Ministry of Education to urgently investigate the matter and ensure that textbooks used in Nigerian schools are free from contents harmful to the morals of young students.

“We demand that the Ministry of Education takes immediate steps to remove all textbooks containing lewd and sexually explicit materials from circulation in schools across the country.

We believe that the Nigerian education system should uphold the cultural and religious values of the Nigerian people, particularly the Muslim community,” the letter read in part.

The MSSN described the inclusion of such materials in textbooks as a threat to the morality of their children and an attack on their cultural and religious values.

Some of the books listed include Basic Science Junior Secondary School Razat Publishers, 2018 edition, (for JSS3); New Concept English for Senior Secondary Schools for SSS2, Revised edition (2018 edition); Active Basic Science, 2014 edition and Basic Science & Technology for Junior Secondary School 1, 2 and 3.