While the students lament their plight and concerns regarding their inability to pursue their education through no fault of theirs, their teachers, religious leaders and the government are entangled in the argument over the use of the hijab in grant-aided schools that are affiliated to Christians in the state.
The genesis of the crisis
The hijab conundrum between the Muslims and the Christians which began in 2013 has defied the intervention of the immediate past administration in the state and is presently giving the incumbent some headaches. From 2013, the case which had gone to the lower court that year went to appeal in 2016 and is before the Supreme Court, according to the chairman of the Kwara State Chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Bishop Paul Olawoore.
They stressed that the state government was ill-advised in approving blanket wearing of the hijab by female students in grant-aided mission schools in the state.
Punch Newspapers
Sections
Tunde Oyekola, Ilorin
The Christian Association of Nigeria in Kwara State has insisted that it will not allow its pupils to wear hijab, despite the Kwara State Government’s directive that Muslim female pupils in Christian mission schools should wear hijab.
The state government, last week, said it had approved wearing of hijab by Muslim female pupils in Christian mission grant-aided schools in the state.
It also said the 10 Christian mission schools closed down in the wake of the hijab crisis would be reopened on Monday, March 8.
However, the state branch of the Christian Association of Nigeria said it would not agree to the use of hijab in schools established by Christian missions, alleging that they were surprised that the government was trying to make a decision on a matter that was still before the Supreme Court.
Hijab Controversy: Return our schools, Baptist, ECWA tell Kwara govt vanguardngr.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from vanguardngr.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Against the directive of the Kwara State government on approval of hijab for female muslim students in public schools, the leadership of the Evangelical