Ahead of the February 14th and 28th general elections, there are indications that public and private schools at all levels in the country may be shut by their owners and the federal and state governments.
The move to close the schools is linked to fears being expressed by parents over the safety of their wards as apprehension over possible post-election violence heightens.
Already, some private schools, especially the mission institutions, have sent memos to parents to pick their children in boarding schools from between February 5 and 12 because they cannot guarantee the safety of their students during and after the elections.
Some of the country’s universities are not left out as they have brought forward their semesters’ examinations to enable their students go on vacation during the period.
Nigerian Pilot learnt that some worried parents have even protested the February 12 date fixed by some schools for their vacation, arguing that the date was too close to the elections.
Parents, who spoke with Nigerian Pilot on the matter, stated that they were not ready to risk the lives of their children in view of the volatile political landscape occasioned by verbal tantrums and threats of violence by politicians.
They said that in spite of the Abuja Accord signed by the presidential candidates and their parties’ chairmen, they were no longer comfortable with certain incendiary comments by some candidates and actions of their supporters who resorted to arson and other forms of lawlessness.
The parents cited the scale of violence that trailed the 2011 general elections, stressing that the stage appears set for a possible repeat of such actions.
One of the parents said, “I want to have my children with me from the end this month so that I can arrange for my trip to my state. I won’t stay here (FCT) during the elections.”
Some parents confirmed receiving text messages from proprietors of schools, notifying them of their intention to close their schools before the election.
According to one of them, “I have received notice to pick up my child in a boarding house on February 7, 2015 and I welcome the school’s action.”
Others said they were asked to come for their children on February 12 and expressed displeasure over the date because it was too close to the elections.
Curiously, none of the schools has fixed its resumption dates, signifying that the “holidays” may be indefinite except events after the election turn positive.
But, President, National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools, FCT chapter, Mrs. Samira Jibir, told Nigerian Pilot that her association would not shutdown schools for the elections until there was a directive to that effect from the Federal Ministry of Education.
She said: “Anybody closing down his or her school for the 2015 elections is acting alone. We have not been directed to do so by the Federal Ministry of Education. As soon as we get the directive to shutdown our schools, we will comply.”
At the Federal Ministry of Education, none of the key officers was ready to speak on the matter. However, a senior staff member in the office of the Director, Basic Education, who sought anonymity, said, “We are waiting for a directive from ‘above’ to that effect.”
“Our directors are already meeting for the purpose of taking decisions on that before long,” he said.
Even banks are not spared as the fear-gripped parents wishing to travel abroad have stepped up demands for the processing of their travelling documents.
An Abuja-based banker said: “The pressure our bank faces on daily basis for processing of travelling document leaves everyone wondering how many people will be left to cast their votes during the elections.”
Source: Nigerian Pilot
