Panic in Kaduna over conflicting reports on schools’ resumption

Conflicting statements credited to Governor Nasir el-Rufai of Kaduna State on the resumption date for academic activities in the state have thrown parents and guardians into a panic.

This is following the security challenges in the state.

On one hand, there were claims that the government had suspended the resumption date for all schools; on the other, a counter directive came from the governor, yesterday, validating the initial resumption date.

However, the concerned parents condemned the contradictory reports, saying that since the escalation of kidnapping and banditry, the government had not done anything to arrest the situation.

The Commissioner of Education, Dr. Shehu Muhammad, debunked the report that El-Rufai while addressing a stakeholders’ meeting on Monday, suspended schools’ resumption due to the ongoing aggressive military operation against bandits in most parts of the state.

Mohammad explained that the information was false and unfounded, as the governor was neither in a meeting with stakeholders nor said such to anyone.

“It would be recalled that the ministry had earlier stated in a release, on July 15, 2021, that schools would be closed for three weeks, for the second term holiday beginning from July 16, 2021, to enable the state to review the 2020/2021 academic calendar, so that normal school activities can continue afterward. The state’s stance on that has not changed,” the commissioner noted.

He urged members of the public to disregard the fake news while warning those behind the misinformation to desist from it or be prepared to face the law.

El-Rufai purportedly met with members of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) as well as professional and community-based associations, and suspended resumption of schools across the State till further notice.

Amid the panic brewed by the conflict, a parent, Yunusa Hamza, said his four children attend Rimi College, adding that the conflicting report threw him into confusion.

His words: “I am yet to understand what is going on in the state. Are the students going to resume in the midst of the ongoing security challenges, or would there be security backing for students, if they resume?”

However, a sociologist at the Kaduna State College of Education, Dr. Usman Abubakar, noted: “There are always repercussions for everything on earth. The blood of innocent students is speaking, sending confusion to the government of Kaduna. The state government should better do the needful.”