The Minister of Education,
Malam Ibrahim Shekarau, on
Monday directed that all public
and private primary and
secondary schools as well as
tertiary institutions remain in
session during the 2015 general
elections.
Shekarau gave the directive
while briefing newsmen after a
meeting with Commissioners of
Education from the 36 states of
the federation in Abuja.
He said that there were no
compelling reasons to close
schools as efforts were being
made to provide adequate
security during the elections.
``At the end of our
deliberations with
commissioners from 36 states of
the federation and the FCT and
the management of NUC, NBTE
and NCCE, we resolved as
follows.
``That all schools and
institutions should remain in
session while elections go on;
most of our schools are half-
way into the second term of the
school calendar; we lost a lot
during the ebola crisis and most
schools are trying to catch up.
``All schools that have not gone
on mid-term break should put it
on hold; those already on mid-
term break should resume.
``In schools where we have
polling stations, we have
decided to ask state
governments and Ministries of
Education to ensure safety of
students.’’
Shekarau urged parents not to
work on rumours and expressed
optimism that the elections
would be conducted without
violence or threat to life.
He said parents should realise
that they send their children to
school in trust that they would
be protected.