JAMB: Stakeholder speaks out against recurring discrimination against hijab wearing candidates

JAMB's UTME: Education stakeholder kicks against alleged continued harassment in Nigeria

Officials at the examination centres in Nigeria often act ultra vires by asking hijab-wearing Muslim ladies to remove their head covering
JAMB recently frowned at a reported incident where a hijab-wearing candidate was asked to remove the veil as part of the accreditation processes at the Bafuto Institute, Ile-Iwe bus stop, Ejigbo, in Lagos state
In an interview with Legit.ng, an education expert, Prince Adesegun Ogungbayi, lamented that Muslim girls are needlessly persecuted

Ikoyi, Lagos state - Adesegun Ogungbayi, the board chairman of MIMS Educational Services, has asserted that the alleged continued harassment of hijab-wearing Muslims in Nigeria is "an indictment on the whole of educational setting".

Speaking in an interview with Legit.ng, Ogungbayi said considering a 2022 judgement of the Supreme Court of Nigeria which upheld students’ rights to wear the hijab, overzealous officials at examination centres should not be tolerated at all.

He stated that representatives of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), the West African Examinations Council (WAEC), or the National Examination Council (NECO) officials guilty of the discrimination "should know it is against the educational profession".

Ogungbayi told Legit.ng:

"The recurring issue of discrimination against hijab-wearing during the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) and West African Senior School Certificate Examination has been alarming despite the fact that those that are disturbing the innocent Muslim candidates around the nation know and understand the fundamental right to dress according to your faith as education experts.

"In Nigeria, the law regarding hijab wearing in schools has been clear through legal battles at the Supreme Court. Some few years back, the Nigerian Supreme Court ruled in favour of allowing Muslim students to wear the hijab in public schools, citing the right to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion as enshrined in Section 38 of the 1999 Constitution.

"The court held that the ban on hijab was a violation of the fundamental rights of Muslim students and ordered that they be allowed to wear the hijab in public schools and public examinations lìke Senior School Certificate Examination General Certificate Examination GCE, National Certificate Examination Council, UTME, and other international examinations."

Ogungbayi argued that the acceptance of hijab-wearing in schools and public examinations in Nigeria is a clear matter of human rights, religious freedom, and inclusivity. He, therefore, asked those "disturbing candidates" to "stop it".

Hijab controversy: JAMB makes clarification

Earlier, Legit.ng reported that JAMB said the harassed a hijab-wearing UTME candidate, Ms Tiamiyu Ayisat Morenikeji did not lose any minute out of her scheduled time.

JAMB rubbished erroneous insinuations that Morenikeji was not allowed into the examination venue until after 30 minutes.

.. Source: Legit.ng