FG Orders Closure Of Unity Schools, Ahead Of Elections

Pupils of the 104 Federal Government Colleges may be asked to proceed on a break by Wednesday as a result of the February 16 presidential election in the country, sources at the Federal Ministry of Education have said.

Our correspondent learnt that the anticipated holiday would allow pupils to stay safely at home and prevent them from becoming victims of unrest associated with the election period.

When contacted, the Federal Ministry of Education’s Spokesperson, Mr Ben Goong, said the Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu, would make a formal announcement on the holidays for the unity schools at a briefing scheduled to hold on (today) Friday.

He said, “I wanted to announce the time of holidays on Thursday, but the minister will be having the weekly briefing by Friday and he will speak about it.”

Calls put across to the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education, Mr Sonny Echono, rang out twice on Thursday afternoon.

Sources, however, said the holidays for the election period could most likely commence on Wednesday.

One of them said, “The federal government colleges should proceed on break, starting from Wednesday. Informally, some of the pupils have already started travelling. Most private schools in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, may also be shut around Thursday. Earlier in the week, some universities and higher institutions had announced election break. Therefore, government-owned schools should follow suit by next week.”

Our correspondent learnt that the unity schools might not reopen until after March 4, when the governorship and houses of assemblies elections would have been concluded.

PUNCH