Can you believe this? Students sent to school to learn their books were busy doing other things, including marrying each other illegally! That is exactly what has been happening in a secondary school in northern Nigeria; the Saádu Zungur Model Primary and Secondary School in Bauchi to be precise. Meanwhile, the Bauchi State Government has since closed down the school after discovering that the students were really marrying each other illegally.
More details below please-
The order for the closure of the school which was given by the deputy State Governor, Nuhu Gidado, who doubles as the Commissioner for Education, also affected the primary section, The Nigerian Tribune reports.
The action was carried out following the reports received by the government on the illegal marriages amongst the students.
In a press statement issued by Gidado’s Special Assistant on Communications, Yakubu Adamu, the deputy governor blamed the illegal marriages among the teenagers on moral decadence in the society.
Gidado said that the school would remain closed until further investigations are carried out by a special committee which would be set up by the government and would come up with detailed reports and recommendations on the issue.
The Nigerian Tribune reports that the illegal marriages amongst students have become rampant amongst the students and was finally exposed last week.
This has been happening despite the fact that the male and female students have separate classrooms.
According to the reports, the teachers in the school uncovered the affair when an SS2 student organized on of such ceremonies to his alleged lover who is also a senior student.
The attention of the teachers was reportedly drawn by the sound of jubilation amongst the other students gather for the ceremony, only to discover that a wedding ceremony was taking place.
The Nigerian Tribune reports that the case was reported to the principal of the school, Mallam Ahmed Zailani, who in turn reported it to the Ministry of Education with hopes that appropriate sanctions would be given to the erring students.
Upon investigations into the case, it was discovered that the male students reportedly paid a brideprice of N500 to their brides-to-be as the condition for the marriages.
It was also revealed that the classmates of the intending couples contributed money for snacks which would be eaten during such ceremonies.
This story is partly adapted from Pulse.ng.
