The Bauchi State government have closed the Sa’adu Zungur Model Primary and Secondary School in its capital, Bauchi, over illegal marriages among senior students in the school.
The closure order, which also affected the primary section of the school, was given last Friday by the state deputy governor, Nuhu Gidado, following a report received by the government on the illegal marriages among the students.
According to a press statement issued by his Special Assistant on Communications, Yakubu Adamu, the deputy governor – who doubles as the Commissioner for Education – attributed the illegal marriages among the students to moral decadence in the society.
Gidado stated the school would remain closed until a committee set up by the state government to investigate the matter came up with a detailed report and recommendations.
According to Nigerian Tribune, the illegal marriages among the students blew open last week during one of such illegal marriages.
It was further learnt that teachers in the school got to know about the act when a senior secondary 2 student organised one of such wedding ceremonies in the school premises to his alleged lover, also a senior student of the school.
The noise and cheers from jubilant co-students amidst the fun were said to have drawn the attention of the teachers, who rushed to find out what was happening only to discover that a ‘wedding’ ceremony was taking place between the two students.
They reported to the school’s principal, Mallam Ahmed Zailani, who in turn reported to the Ministry of Education with a view to taking appropriate sanction against the erring students.
Investigation revealed that male students used to pay N500 as bride price to their would-be ‘wife’ who are also students of the school as a condition for solemnisation of their marriages.
It further revealed that the ‘couples’ classmates also contributed money to buy snacks to eat during such ‘wedding’ ceremonies.
