TheNewsGuru

Tag: Lagos Schools

  • Lagos directs schools to go on mid-term break from February 24 – March 6

    Lagos directs schools to go on mid-term break from February 24 – March 6

    The Lagos government has issued directive to schools to go on mid-term break for the 2022/2023 second term academic session.

    This directive was made known via a statement by the Director General, Office of Education Quality Assurance (OEQA), Abiola Seriki-Ayeni.

    The directive followed the amended harmonised calendar approved by Commissioner for Education, Folashade Adefisayo.

    Abiola Seriki-Ayeni said the break commences Friday, February 24 and applicable to all public and private schools in the state.

    “This compliance is mandatory for all schools below tertiary level, while emergency preparedness and safety precautions should be in place,” he said.

    The holiday ends on March 3, while school resumes on March 6; boarding school students are to return on March 5.

    The statement advised schools and parents to follow government social media handles for up-to-date information.

    The federal and state governments have made altercations to academic schedules due to the February and March 11 elections.

  • Supreme Court Endorses the Use Of Hijabs In Lagos Schools

    The Supreme Court on Friday threw out Lagos state appeal and upheld the use of Hijabs by female Muslim students of public schools in the state.

    In a split decision of five to two of a seven-member panel, the Supreme Court affirmed the July 21, 2016 judgment of the Court of Appeal, Lagos, which set aside the October 17, 2014 judgment by Justice Grace Onyeabo of the High Court of Lagos State, which upheld the hijab restriction.

    Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, who wrote the lead majority judgment, which was read on Friday by Justice Tijani Abubakar, dismissed the appeal filed by Lagos State against the 2016 judgment of the Court of Appeal, Lagos, on the grounds that the appeal was without merit.

    Recall that back in 2014 the Lagos State Government  banned the use of the hijab, arguing that it was not part of the approved school uniform for students.

    Following the ban, Muslim students filed a suit on May 27, 2015, seeking redress and asking the court to declare the ban as a violation of their rights to freedom of thought, religion and education.

    The case, CA/L/135/15, is between Lagos State Government, Miss Asiyat AbdulKareem (through her father), Miss Moriam Oyeniyi and the Muslim Students’ Society of Nigeria.

  • Yoruba language bill: Lagos schools, corporate organisations risk fine, closure for non-compliance

    Yoruba language bill: Lagos schools, corporate organisations risk fine, closure for non-compliance

    The Lagos State House of Assembly is proposing a fine of N500, 000 or closure of any school that flouts its proposed law on compulsory teaching and learning of Yoruba Language, when passed.

    “A Bill for a Law To Provide for the Preservation and Promotion of the Use of Yoruba Language and for Connected Purposes’’ before the House seeks to make Yoruba language a core subject in schools.

    Presenting a report on the bill on Thursday, the Chairman of the House Committee on Education, Mr Lanre Ogunyemi, said that it would enhance the preservation of the language.

    According to him, the bill also recommends the translation of all the laws in the state into Yoruba language in order to get to its target.

    The Assembly had previously made moves to make teaching and learning of Yoruba Language compulsory in both public and private schools in the state.

    The House said that such step had become imperative to meet its target of preserving and promoting the indigenous language of the South West from going into extinction.

    The bill states further that all state-owned tertiary institutions should incorporate the use of Yoruba Language in the General Studies (GNS) curriculum.

    It reads in part: “The use of Yoruba Language shall be an acceptable means of communication between individuals, establishment, corporate entities and government in the state if so desired by the concerned.

    “Any school that fails to comply with the provisions of Section 2 of the law commits an offence and is liable on first violation to issuance of warning and on subsequent violation be closed down and also pay a fine of N500, 000.”

    Ogunyemi later told newsmen that the committee might amend a provision in the bill which recommended that it should take effect after two years of its passage.

    According to him, most of the lawmakers want the bill to become effective immediately after it is signed into law by Gov. Akinwunmi Ambode.

    The lawmaker added that the Assembly was passionate about Yoruba Language which necessitated its adoption for parliamentary debate on Thursdays.

    “The National Policy on Education provides that the language of an environment should be spoken in schools, which is why Yoruba Language is being adopted for Lagos schools.

    “After the passage of the bill into law, it would become compelling for schools to speak Yoruba Language. We want to preserve the language for generations yet unborn,’’ he said.

    On compliance by private schools after passage, the lawmaker said that schools owners were part of the bill and that they were at meetings the committee held across the education districts in the state.

    He added that private schools owners would have no choice than to key into the project as they have been properly mobilised, adding that the state Ministry of Education would ensure compliance.

    On the translation of the laws into Yoruba Language, Ogunyemi said that this was to ensure that those that are literate in Yoruba language were carried along in the scheme of things in the state.

    The Speaker of the House, Mr Mudashiru Obasa, commended the committee, noting that the bill should take effect once signed into law by the state governor.

    The House accepted the report as its resolution as the bill awaits third reading.

  • A’Court upholds use of Hijab in Lagos public schools

    A’Court upholds use of Hijab in Lagos public schools

     

    The Appeal Court on Tuesday struck out the motion for stay of execution filed by the Lagos State Government on the use of Hijab in Lagos public schools.

    The case tagged CA/L/135/15, was between Lagos State Government, Miss Asiyat AbdulKareem (through her father), Miss Moriam Oyeniyi and Muslim Students’ Society of Nigeria.

    In his lead judgment, Justice Gumel held that the use of the Hijab was an Islamic injunction and also an act of worship hence it would constitute a violation of the appellants’ rights to stop them from wearing the Hijab in public schools.

    After hearing from both parties, the presiding justice, Muhammad Lawal Garba, struck out the motion.

    Resolving all the five issues raised in favour of the appellants, the appellate court held that the lower court erred in law when it held that the ban on hijabs was a policy of the Lagos State Government (respondent With the current verdict, students in public primary and secondary schools in Lagos State can now wear Hijab to school without harassment unless the Supreme Court rules otherwise.

    Reacting to the judgment, the Amir (President) of MSSN Lagos State Area Unit, Dr. Saheed Ashafa, hailed the court for a sound judgment.

    According to him, the judgment will further strengthen fundamental human rights as enshrined in the constitution.

    He stated that the MSSN Lagos would not entertain any act or form of harassment after the current judgement.

    He said, “We applaud the judgment as this is not unexpected. The position of the law is very clear on the subject matter. This matter once more assure us that all hope is not lost on having a redeemed society.

    “It gladdens to see that the injunction which the LASG is using as a basis to deny the implementation of the Court of Appeal judgment has been struck out.

    “We hereby urge all stakeholders to be law abiding for a peaceful implementation of the judgment. There should be no violation of human rights against our Students while we expect an immediate implementation of the judgment in all schools across the state.”

    While congratulating and thanking Muslims on the recent victory, Ashafa said, “We Congratulate the entire Muslim Ummah (community) and urge our Muslim students to uphold decency and cleanliness which are the hallmark of Islam while exercising their right.”

    TheNewsGuru.com recalls that a special constituted panel of the Court of Appeal sitting in Lagos on Thursday, July 21, 2016 unanimously set aside the judgment of a Lagos High Court which banned students in public primary and secondary schools in the state from putting on the Hijab with their school uniforms.