Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will hold discussions with his Nigerian counterpart on the decision by (a) Bauchi, (b) Kano, (c) Katsina and (d) Kebbi States to close (i) public and (ii) private (A) primary and (B) secondary schools for Ramadan.

Improving access to education in Nigeria is a key priority for the UK and we are working with the Nigerian Government to ensure that all Nigerians have access to a quality education. Through the Partnership for Learning for All Nigerian Education (PLANE) programme, we have commissioned research to document the number of school days lost through ad hoc closures, insecurity, religious holidays and climate-related factors in states in Northern Nigeria. We will share the key finding of this research with the Nigerian Government.