Kwara shuts 10 schools over Hijab controversy

The Kwara State Government yesterday ordered the immediate closure of some grant-aided schools in Ilorin pending the resolution of the controversy surrounding the use of Hijab in the affected schools.

The schools, according to the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education and Human Capital Development, Mrs Kemi Adeosun, include Cherubim and Seraphim (C&S) College, Sabo Oke; St. Anthony College, Offa Road; ECWA School, Oja Iya; Surulere Baptist Secondary School and Bishop Smith Secondary School, Agba Dam.

Also affected are CAC Secondary School, Asa Dam; St. Barnabas Secondary School, Sabo Oke; St. John’s School, Maraba; St. Williams Secondary School, Taiwo Isale and St. James Secondary School, Maraba.

The Permanent Secretary said a government committee comprising representatives of the Muslim and Christian communities would meet to iron out the differences between the two religious communities.

“Government calls for calm and urges parents and religious leaders to avoid actions or comments that may further split the two communities,’’ Adeosun stated.

The ban on the use of Hijab in some missionary secondary schools in Kwara has dominated public discourse in the state lately.