Students of the Baptist High School in Iwo, Osun State have made a gesture of resistance to the state's new education policies.
On Monday, the students attended classes sporting a variety of religious attires in what appeared to be a rejection of new uniforms imposed by the administration of Governor Rauf Aregbesola. On assembly grounds, the students also defiantly rent the air with differing religious choruses. Christian students wore white clothes, Muslim ones wore flowing gowns, while animist students wore a variety of different clothes.
Under Mr. Aregbesola’s education reforms, faith-based schools are required to abandon their doctrinal teachings, dressings and gender-only practices. The policy also merged students from different schools. Students have staged protests to register their stiff opposition to the reform policy. In some schools, the protests have led to fracas between different student groups.
In some instances, students and teachers have engaged in brawls that caused varying degrees of injuries.
Apart from student protests, religious groups and other stakeholders in education have also railed against the state's reform policy. Some of these groups have written to Mr. Aregbesola to protest that the demand to roll back the religious heritage of their schools was unacceptable.
A similar educational policy in Lagos State has also met with protests by female students required to put away their Islamic veils.
Some stakeholders in Osun State have called on Governor Aregbesola to reconsider aspects of the new policy to ensure that students do not adopt more defiant attitudes.
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