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Nigeria's northern governors to close Islamic schools due to coronavirus risk

Published 22/04/2020, 16:50

By Garba Muhammad
KADUNA, Nigeria, April 22 (Reuters) - Nigeria's northern
governors have agreed to close disputed Islamic schools which
house millions of men and boys across the region due to concerns
over the new coronavirus, the group said in a statement.
The governors said the risk to children from the virus
prompted this week's decision to close the schools, and children
would be evacuated to their parents or states of origin.
Orphans would be taken care of by the state government where
they are located.
Islamic schools, known within Nigeria as almajiris, fill a
gap left by state educational institutions. State schools are so
overcrowded they cannot accommodate a booming population in
northern Nigeria, which is predominately Muslim.
Fewer than half of children in the region attend government
primary schools, according to the latest official figures, from
2015. Many families live on less than $2 a day and have few
other options besides the almajiris.
The Islamic schools enrol an estimated 10 million students,
according to Nigerian human rights organisation the Muslim
Rights Concern (MURIC).
But the schools have for years been dogged by accusations
that some force children to beg on the streets, and late last
year, raids at several schools uncovered horrific abuse.
Professor Ishaq Akintola, director of MURIC, said the
schools should have been closed when the federal government
closed state schools and universities on March 19.
"This is a belated order," Akintola said. "There is no need
for children to be roaming the streets in this COVID-19
environment."
Nigeria currently has 782 confirmed cases of the virus.

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