The Bauchi State government, through the Ministry of Education, has announced the closure of all schools in the state in preparation for the five-week-long 2025 Ramadan fast.
The announcement is contained in the approved school calendar for the 2024-2025 academic session in the state.
Speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria in Bauchi on Friday, the Information Officer, Ministry of Education, Mr Jalaludeen Maina, said the holiday had already been incorporated in the calendar long before now.
He explained that the closure would take effect from March 1 to April 5.
Maina said the closure affected all the institutions of learning, which includes all public and private primary, Junior and secondary schools, as well as higher institutions of learning in the state.
“Yes, we are closing all our schools and this is included in our 2024-2025 approved calendar for the academic session that our students are not going to do the Ramadan fasting while in school.
“The five-week holiday is for Ramadan fasting, and immediately after the fasting, they will resume and continue with their academics,” he said.
Mrs Sunita Joseph, who expressed frustration at the development, emphasised that the period was too long.
“Why would Ramadan break be too long like this? The children may have even started forgetting what they had learned before the break,” she said.
Ismail Raji, called on the state government to reconsider the decision, adding that it could further encourage out of school children syndrome.
Mohammed Isa, who frowned at the development, reminded the state government that the state was one of the states with the highest number of out-of-school children.
He said that the government should be coming up with projects and programmes that would encourage parents to send their wards to schools.
NAN
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This is most unfortunate development especially for schools that have nothing to do with fasting, especially Christian schools. In case, for the past sixty of Nigeria, fasting has been holding with schools in session without hitches, so why now? After all, most of the schools are day especially the primary school levels and even secondary schools. The tertiary institution, the students feed themselves. There is certainly no reason for the 5weeks break especially for students in SS3 and JSS3 who are due to write exams beginning April through June. This is sentiments carried too far. What happened to the right of the non fasting students?