Following request by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to use schools across the country as registration centres for the forthcoming voters’ registration exercise, the Federal Government yesterday directed that all primary and secondary schools in the country, remain on recess until February 4, 2011.
Both public and private schools will be affected.
Minister of State for Education, Kenneth Gbagi who spoke to newsmen in Abuja on Thursday said the decision was informed by government’s determination to ensure that INEC was supported in its effort to see that Nigerians get a credible election in 2011 general.
Gbagi explained that only Senior Secondary School class 3 pupils would be allowed to resume school because of their examination, but added however, that arrangement had been concluded with the principals of the affected schools on how to ensure proper security measures for the students. He said the decision to close the schools does not affect the universities, polytechnics and colleges of education as well as other tertiary institutions as it was the primary and secondary schools only that would be used for the exercise.
Although the minister said he did not envisage any disobedience from any school especially the private schools, he promised to monitor compliance to ensure the directive was carried out nationwide.
For the few academic weeks that would be lost to the exercise, the minister promised that the Federal Ministry of Education would work out modalities how to make up so that it does not affect normal academic calendar.
“One thing that every Nigerian is concerned about as at today is to have ag credible election that will help us elect credible leaders for the development of the country. This decision is not too much for us to give to actualize that. “We will make amend for the period we are taking out of the academic calendar. As the Federal Ministry of Education, we have supervisory role over every schools and we know that even the private schools will be willing to give this period up as support to achieve a credible election,” he said.
The INEC it was disclosed wrote the Federal Ministry of Education requesting that schools be prevented from resuming after the Christmas and New Year vacation to allow its officials use the schools nationwide as voters’ registration centres.
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