The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has called on educational institutions across Nigeria to avoid fixing examinations during the upcoming Salah celebration. The group said it is becoming a worrying trend for some tertiary institutions to ignore Muslim public holidays, describing the act as unfair and insensitive to Muslim students and staff.

In a statement released on Tuesday, May 27, 2025, the Executive Director of MURIC, Professor Ishaq Akintola, strongly criticised the decision of some institutions to schedule exams during Islamic festivals, especially Salah. He warned that such actions could create tension and disrupt peace on campuses.

“It has come to our knowledge that some tertiary institutions are in the habit of ignoring public holidays and scheduling examinations to coincide with Muslim festivals,” Professor Akintola said. “This is aimed at causing Muslim staff and students as much discomfort as possible. This, without doubt, is insensitive, repressive, and provocative.”

Professor Akintola added that reports received by MURIC in recent weeks showed that some federal tertiary institutions had planned exams for Salah day or the day before, leading to tension among students. However, he acknowledged that a few of the schools later adjusted their timetables and postponed the exams, which he described as a welcome development.

He stressed that holidays officially declared by the Federal Government should be honoured by all institutions without exception. Ignoring such holidays, he said, is not only insensitive but also illegal and unconstitutional.

Now that is clear that this year’s Salah (Eid-l-Adha- the Big Feast) falls on Friday, June 6, 2025, MURIC appealed to university authorities to create a gap of at least two or three days between the religious festival and the next scheduled exams. He said this would allow Muslim students and staff to celebrate the festival peacefully and return to their academic duties without stress.

“MURIC appeals to the authorities of all tertiary institutions in Nigeria for cooperation in the interest of peace and harmony, not only on campuses but in the country as a whole,” Prof Akintola said, adding, “anything to the contrary will be deemed confrontational and not in the best interest of the institution.”

He questioned whether these same institutions would fix exams for December 24th, 25th, or 26th during the Christmas season and urged schools to show the same respect to Islamic holidays.

He concluded by warning that any institution that refuses to respect public holidays declared for Islamic festivals may be reported to the Federal Ministry of Education and the National Universities Commission (NUC). “To be forewarned is to be forearmed,” he said.