Four northern states—Kebbi, Bauchi, Katsina, and Kano—are on the path of depriving their students of basic education by shutting down public schools because of the Islamic Ramadan fast. These states have erred, even though they have the legal right to make educational decisions within their jurisdictions.
This uninformed pronouncement must stop immediately. It is retrogressive, backward thinking, and a violation of the rights of other northern students who are not Muslims.
Truly, the holy month of Ramadan is a time for sober reflection for Islamic faithful and must be respected. However, that respect should not extend to shutting down public and private schools.
Sadly, the states implementing this policy—effective March 1, 2025—are not among those excelling in literacy and education. In the list of Nigeria’s highest literacy rates released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) in 2017, none of them made the cut.
Shutting schools during Ramadan in northern Nigeria is akin to the popular saying, “crying more than the bereaved.” Islam did not originate in Nigeria, nor does Nigeria rank among the top Muslim-majority countries.
Saudi Arabia, with 97.1% of its population being Muslim, does not shut down schools during Ramadan. Ironically, this is the same country that many Nigerian Muslims look up to as a model for Islamic principles.
Other Muslim-dominated countries—including Jordan (93.8%), Algeria (98.2%), the Maldives (100%), Iran (99.7%), and Morocco (99%)—have not adopted the policy of closing schools for fasting. Nigeria’s Muslim population is just 53.5%, including the northern region where this retrogressive policy is being enforced in some states.
Surprisingly, countries that are predominantly Muslim perform better in global literacy rankings than Nigeria. Saudi Arabia has a literacy rate of 94%, Iran 84%, Jordan 93%, Algeria 73%, the Maldives 98%, and Sudan and Morocco 74%. In contrast, Nigeria’s literacy rate stands at just 51%, according to World Atlas.
The most alarming part is that states that shut schools during Ramadan fasting already struggle with staggering numbers of out-of-school children. According to Cable Index, 67.6% of school-age children in Kebbi are out of school. Bauchi has 55.7%, Katsina 45.9%, and Kano 39.2%.
Governors of these states must base their policies and executive pronouncements on fact-based data while ensuring a conducive environment for Muslims during Ramadan not by coming up with retrogressive holidays that could exacerbate the factors that increase the number of out of school children in their domains.
Instead of shutting down schools, they can implement reduced working hours, as institutions like Ahmadu Bello University and Bayero University Kano have done.
Research shows that global poverty could be reduced by half if all adults completed secondary education, particularly in low-income countries like Nigeria, according to data from the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
The North must begin implementing policies that will lift its people out of generational poverty. There is no evidence that religion or fasting alone can eradicate poverty—education will.
Join EdubaseNG WhatsApp Channel to get the latest education & student loan tips
Join our Telegram Channel to get the latest news about Student Loans & Education News.
Are you a stakeholder in education? You can become our guest writer. Write to us using our our email address here
