The Board of Governors of the International School University of Ibadan on Wednesday declared that there is no going back on the ban on wearing of Hijab by female Muslim students in the school.
Rising from its meeting, the Board under the leadership of Professor Adeyinka Aderinto, in a resolution made available to newsmen, stated that the dress code of the school be maintained.
The DEFENDER reports that the Board however did not state if the dress code law of the school supersedes the law of the Federal Republic of Nigeria which has capacity to decide life and death of the school in its entirety.
In the resolution, the board stressed that “the dress code as contained in the school rules and regulations of the school be maintained while the school management has been empowered to enforce appropriately.”
The Board then urged parents of students in the school to ” abide by the extant rules of the school to enable the school fulfill its mandate of providing sound education to our children.
Also, the International School Ibadan Alumni Association has said the present controversy over wearing of Hijab must be viewed from the lens of principles and governing laws of the school and not through lenses of religion.
In a mail sent to the Chairman Board of Governors, Professor Aderinto, the President of the Alumni Association Tive Ekpere maintained that the uniform policy was introduced to disabuse socioeconomic inequalities, discourage segregation and minimize distraction on academic activities.
While noting that the “The uniform is unique and is the fabric that has bound ISI culture and tradition till today” the President, stated that the existing policy on school uniform be reviewed and interpreted accordingly.
Ekpere stated that the agitators must note that “That the International School Ibadan is a private school and is governed by its own policies, laws and regulations”
“The International School Ibadan (ISI) is a secular international school established to admit and provide the best possible education for boys and girls from all over the world; irrespective of their ethnicity, creed, race or religion. It’s a center where children are brought to learn from one another with the aim of finding their common humanity.
The uniform policy was introduced to disabuse socio-economic inequalities, discourage segregation and minimize distraction on academic activities.
The uniform is unique and is the fabric that has bound ISI culture and tradition till today. Beyond this, the Association wishes to advice that all overt religious activities on the school campus be discouraged henceforth. While we believe that every student should be free to practice whatever religion they wish, we are also persuaded that the exercise of such rights must be carried out within the bounds of civility.
Within these bounds of civility, what cannot be condoned are actions being taken by a select few that could potentially jeopardize the comfort and safety of all ISI students and teachers. ISI as we believe has one mandate and that is to deliver quality education to every single student in the school and nothing more.”
