Controversy/ historical perspective on ISI

“Your private ownership claim on UI school baseless – Oyo Muslims

The Muslim Community in Oyo State on Monday declared that the claim by the management
of University of Ibadan International School that the school is a private one is baseless.

General-Secretary of the organisation, Sheik Ismail Busayri queried: “When has ISI become a
private establishment when the UI DVC academic is the Chairman of the board?
“The fact that ISI is a private school is baseless, it does not make sense. To call ISI a private
school is baseless. In fact, it does not make sense. When has UI become a private
establishment?

“Go and check the website, what you can see there is that the school was established in
March 1963 by the University of Ibadan. When has ISI become a private establishment when
the DVC academic is the Chairman of the board. Is the DVC too a private person? Can
anybody from outside Chair the board? How can a school established by UI become a private
school?
“Who are the owners?

Let them reveal the true identity of the owners. who is the proprietor of the school. Even, the
law in Nigeria allows that you can manifest your right in both private and public. Section 32
subsection 2”.
He added that the community will sue the school for violation of the students’ right by
detaining and locking them up in the school for the whole day.

He said, “We are going to sue them for violating the right of these girls, they are going to pay
for the damages, for demoralising and maltreating the girls, for imprisoning them for a who
day for a crime they did not commit. They dragged them from the classes, the security
dragged them and locked them in the library for a whole day.
“We are here to appeal to the management of ISI, they have denied our girls the access to
basic education for almost one week now only because they adorned in Hijab. So we have
come to appeal to them. We appeal to the government, the National Assembly, the federal
government and the ministry of education to please enforce the right of our children.
“Even in the handbook of the school, nothing there banned Hijab, the constitution of Nigeria
is supreme to any other internal rule of any establishment. This has been fought at the level of
Appeal Court and Supreme Court. Recently in Lagos state, the court upheld the right of
female Muslim students to wear Hijab. And section 32 sub section 2 of the 1999 constitution
as amended guaranteed the right of Muslim ladies to adorn Hijab.

“We are operating common law but as you can see common law is not common in Nigeria.
Even in Europe, Muslims and Christians learn side by side. It is allowed in Europe even not
only for students but for military men and uniform men. Hijab is decency, it is protection, the
appearance distracts nobody”.
However, Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic), University of Ibadan who also doubles as
Chairman Board of Governors of the school, Professor Yinka Aderinto has appealed for calm
until normalcy returns.
Aderinto, who came to the school Monday morning, said the action of the protesters was not
expected, adding that there were series of meetings even with the concerned parents.
He told the parents that “These students are our children and we cannot allow anything that
will lead to bloodshed”.

*****History of ISI

The school was founded by German-British educator Kurt Hahn[1] on 13 October 1963 with
funding received from the USAID, Ford Foundation and donation of landspace by the then
Nigerian Western Regional government.[2]

Most of the pioneer teaching staff were British expatriate educators from Gordonstoun in
Scotland. The school is a co-educational Boarding and Day School admitting pupils aged 10
to 16.

It was primarily established to meet the need of finding a school with a world class
standard[3] comparable to schools in Europe and Northern America for children of
expatriates, living and working in Nigeria.

It opened its doors to pupils of both expatriates of diverse nationalities and highly placed
Nigerians. The social setting that ISI provided attracted more patronage from people of all
races.