‘We are not going to school. That is why we are playing, our mommy said, that our school has not resumed,’ said Femi, a primary four pupil of a public school in Lagos seen playing football with his peers before noon at Ikeja on Wednesday. On further propping, they all chorused what Femi stated and looked up to our correspondent to confirm what they had said. In the same vein, 12-year- old Ada Okafor, who was seen hawking groundnuts at Ojota, outskirts of Lagos, disclosed that she was helping her mother, a widow to sell.
The activities these children were involved in, many watchers thought were wrong because they were taking place at a time they were supposed to be in school. But the innocent children were blameless since their schools were yet to resume the session in compliance with the government’s directive that the Christmas holiday should be extended till January 31 the day Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)-organised voter registration exercise that started on Saturday January 16 would end.
A fortnight before the INEC exercise started, the Federal Ministry of Education had on January 6, directed all schools to postpone their resumption date until January 31.
However, the announcement, which with fiat cancelled the proposed resumption date for schools earlier fixed for January 10 nationwide, has continued to receive a welter of reactions from pundits and stakeholders in education, despite the official statement that the extended holiday was to enable INEC conduct its ongoing registration exercise by using the premises of the schools as centres.
Former secretary of Oyo State wing of Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), Olu Abiala, kicked against the decision to postpone such resumption date of pupils. He believes that the exercise should not disturb pupils’ education because the exercise has no history of violence associated with it. ‘Teachers are not involved to impair learning, and even when school premises are involved, registration had always been conducted peacefully.’ Government decision according to the retired teacher ‘defies logic in policy and politics. Education and sustained learning becomes the casualty as school calendar is impaired,’ he concluded.
Reacting more radically to the same announcement, National Association of Private Proprietors of Schools (NAPPS) directed its members to ignore the directive and reopen their classrooms for their pupils and staff.
In a statement issued by NAPPS National President, Dr. Saidu Mijinyawa, he described the decision as arbitrary, because private schools are not involved in INEC voter registration exercise.
Also Lagos State NAPPS chairperson, Elizabeth Kufeji, led others member to Alausa, the state secretariat and the seat of government, to protest against the decision. ‘There is no good reason why schools in the country should be closed. This is not the first time we are organising voter registration in Nigeria. The Federal Government did not inform private schools owners before announcing their decision,’ she frowned.
Chairman House Committee on Information, Lagos State House of Assembly, Ipoola Omisore, also condemned the extension of pupils’ holiday because of the national exercise. ‘Though the postponement is meant to allow officials have a condusive atmosphere to operate, I see no reason why they should force it on private school.’
But giving its defence for the action, INEC stated it sought for the closure of schools in the country to ensure the safety of school pupils and the success of the voter registration exercise. Addressing journalists in Abuja, INEC Chairman, Professor Attahiru Jega, said 70 percent of the about 120, 000 polling units marked out for the exercise are in public schools and the exercise may also lead to possible disruption of the school programme.
‘Initially we thought we could manage under the circumstances but it became very clear that the way we are mobilising for the voter registration and the way people are responding, we need to take extra measures in order to secure the pupils,’ he said.
Daily Independent has reliably learnt that states like Ogun and Oyo have not obeyed the order. Even Lagos that partially respected the rule has stressed that the right to vote should not jeopardise the right to full and qualitative education even as it called on parents, guardians, teachers and students to bear with the situation before announcing that the postponement of resumption of schools had been moved from January 10 to 31. Many Nigerians have also pooh-poohed the rationale behind the decision while some have alleged that President Goodluck Jonathan’s children and those of other politicians and rich Nigerians have been attending school ever since at the American International School, Abuja, which is in full session, not minding the directive.
‘This is wicked, the President’s Jonathan’s children are attending school and so are other top politicians in Abuja since January 10, yet our own children are at home, doing nothing, what kind of democracy is this,’ a resident, Judith Ifeanyi lambasted.
While reacting to the closure, lawyer and human rights activist, Femi Falana, said:
‘In the last three years, WAEC (West African Examinations Council) has recorded 80 per cent failure in Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination results, and many schools have been on strike. Is that the way to restructure education or is this the first time that we will be having voter registration in the country?’
A resident, Kolawole Edu bemoaned the situation.
‘I wonder what on earth would make the government post-pone resumption date over INEC-planned registration exercise. Now, my younger ones are all at home doing nothing, this is unthinkable for a country whose standard of education has fallen. Our children are not going to schools but their own are attending their school,’ he said.
In Lagos, most pupils and students have been idling away when they should have been fully engaged in their academic works after the long Christmas and New Year holiday in December last year.
Also, most of the schools, especially public schools’ premises are not assigned registration centres, further confirming the declaration of the holiday as lacking deep thought because frittering away the children’s time is like wasting their lives.