KADUNA COMMENCES INTER-RELIGIOUS EXCHANGE PROGRAMME

By NBF News

The Kaduna State government has introduced an inter-religious exchange programme for schools in the state as part of efforts to further ensure peaceful coexistence among the people of the state, who are sharply divided by ethnic or religious differences.

The Education Secretary of Kaduna South local government, Malam Sanusi Sirajo, who disclosed this at the flag-off of the peace programme, tagged 'Trust Building and Tolerance'  at the Demonstration Primary School, Kakuri Hausa, Kaduna,  yesterday, said its essence was to inculcate, particularly in the pupils, the need to learn and tolerate one another's  religious beliefs right from their early ages and grow to become better members of the society.

Sirajo said that a similar programme would soon be organized for the school teachers and their parents.

He said: 'Very soon we will start doing school exchange programmes: Christians pupils will go to Muslim schools and stay for a day and Muslims will do same. They will learn about one another's religion and culture.

'We have started the pilot programme and it is yielding positive results. If they children are allowed to speak on their experiences, you will be surprised. Our targets is that, after the children, we will involve the teachers and parents.

'I have already discussed with the District head of Ungwa Mu'zua a Muslim dominated area who assured me that, in the next exchange programme, he and his subordinates would visit Sabon Tasha, a Christian dominated area in their full regalia.'

'What we normally do is, when we are taking children from Tudun Wada, another Muslim dominated area, to Sabon Tasha, they are always dressed in Hausa Muslim attire; similarly when we are taking children from Christian dominated area, we make them dress in Christian dresses and they move very freely and relate well with one another.'