OPEN LETTER:
STOP THE SHAMEFUL "MARKER DAY OR SIGN OUT" IN OUR SECONDARY SCHOOLS
To: Parents, School Administrators, Teachers, Students, and the Ministry of Education
My name is Muhsin Jibo Maigoro, a graduate of Mathematics Education. I write this open letter with deep concern and disappointment over the rising trend of an event called "Marker Day" across secondary schools in our country, especially during final examinations like NECO and WAEC.
This is not a celebration of academic success. It is an open display of indiscipline, immorality, and disrespect to everything our education and culture stand for.
What Is Marker Day?
On this day, students:
Tear or write all over their school uniforms, pour powder or paint on each other, and dance in the streets with no control or direction.
Roam around the school compound and community in a noisy, chaotic, and sometimes violent way.
Disrespect teachers, insult school authorities, and ignore school rules.
Worse still, some students harass their fellow female classmates who choose not to participate. They forcefully hold them, pour substances on them, and write on their uniforms and bodies against their will. Many of these girls cry, struggle, and try to fight back, but they are outnumbered and embarrassed in public.
This is not celebration. This is harassment, abuse, and disgrace.
Why Marker Day Must End:
1. It Destroys Our Cultural Values:
Our culture promotes respect, discipline, and modesty. Marker Day mocks all these values in the name of "celebration."
2. It Goes Against Our Religion:
Whether you are Muslim or Christian, no religion encourages indecent dressing, public harassment, or damaging your school uniform as a form of joy.
3. It Harms Our Children:
Instead of learning responsibility, they are taught that lawlessness is fun. This affects both the guilty and the innocent, especially girls who are bullied and humiliated.
My Humble Appeal and Call to Action:
TO PARENTS:
Wake up. Be aware of what your children are doing after their final exams.
Don’t fund Marker Day clothes or give money to encourage this shameful activity.
Teach your children to celebrate achievements with dignity, gratitude, and fear of God.
TO SCHOOL HEADS AND ADMINISTRATORS:
Ban Marker Day completely. It has no place in any serious academic institution.
Protect the safety and rights of every student, especially those who refuse to participate and are being targeted by their peers.
Enforce discipline and restore your school's honor.
TO TEACHERS:
Raise your voice in your classrooms. Condemn this behavior.
Educate students that success is shown through results, not through torn uniforms or reckless behavior.
TO THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION:
Like Yobe State has done, issue a state wide ban on Marker Day celebrations in all schools.
Monitor and penalize any school that allows this kind of gathering to happen.
Education is for building character, not for encouraging violence and public disgrace.
TO STUDENTS:
Respect yourselves and others. Your exam results matter more than how loudly you celebrated.
Do not harass your classmates or force anyone to join Marker Day. That is bullying, and it is shameful.
Wear your uniform with pride. It represents your journey, not something to be torn or defaced.
Let us act now. Let us protect the image of our schools and the future of our children.
We must not normalize public disorder and call it celebration. If we care about education, values, and the next generation, then Marker Day must stop, now and forever.
.
OPEN LETTER:
STOP THE SHAMEFUL "MARKER DAY OR SIGN OUT" IN OUR SECONDARY SCHOOLS
To: Parents, School Administrators, Teachers, Students, and the Ministry of Education
My name is Muhsin Jibo Maigoro, a graduate of Mathematics Education. I write this open letter with deep concern and disappointment over the rising trend of an event called "Marker Day" across secondary schools in our country, especially during final examinations like NECO and WAEC.
This is not a celebration of academic success. It is an open display of indiscipline, immorality, and disrespect to everything our education and culture stand for.
What Is Marker Day?
On this day, students:
Tear or write all over their school uniforms, pour powder or paint on each other, and dance in the streets with no control or direction.
Roam around the school compound and community in a noisy, chaotic, and sometimes violent way.
Disrespect teachers, insult school authorities, and ignore school rules.
Worse still, some students harass their fellow female classmates who choose not to participate. They forcefully hold them, pour substances on them, and write on their uniforms and bodies against their will. Many of these girls cry, struggle, and try to fight back, but they are outnumbered and embarrassed in public.
This is not celebration. This is harassment, abuse, and disgrace.
Why Marker Day Must End:
1. It Destroys Our Cultural Values:
Our culture promotes respect, discipline, and modesty. Marker Day mocks all these values in the name of "celebration."
2. It Goes Against Our Religion:
Whether you are Muslim or Christian, no religion encourages indecent dressing, public harassment, or damaging your school uniform as a form of joy.
3. It Harms Our Children:
Instead of learning responsibility, they are taught that lawlessness is fun. This affects both the guilty and the innocent, especially girls who are bullied and humiliated.
My Humble Appeal and Call to Action:
TO PARENTS:
Wake up. Be aware of what your children are doing after their final exams.
Don’t fund Marker Day clothes or give money to encourage this shameful activity.
Teach your children to celebrate achievements with dignity, gratitude, and fear of God.
TO SCHOOL HEADS AND ADMINISTRATORS:
Ban Marker Day completely. It has no place in any serious academic institution.
Protect the safety and rights of every student, especially those who refuse to participate and are being targeted by their peers.
Enforce discipline and restore your school's honor.
TO TEACHERS:
Raise your voice in your classrooms. Condemn this behavior.
Educate students that success is shown through results, not through torn uniforms or reckless behavior.
TO THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION:
Like Yobe State has done, issue a state wide ban on Marker Day celebrations in all schools.
Monitor and penalize any school that allows this kind of gathering to happen.
Education is for building character, not for encouraging violence and public disgrace.
TO STUDENTS:
Respect yourselves and others. Your exam results matter more than how loudly you celebrated.
Do not harass your classmates or force anyone to join Marker Day. That is bullying, and it is shameful.
Wear your uniform with pride. It represents your journey, not something to be torn or defaced.
Let us act now. Let us protect the image of our schools and the future of our children.
We must not normalize public disorder and call it celebration. If we care about education, values, and the next generation, then Marker Day must stop, now and forever.
.
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