By Zulaiha Danjuma
In the late hours of Friday, 21 November 2025, an alleged circular purportedly from the Federal Ministry of Education directed all Federal Unity Colleges in the country to close down. However, the said circular was dated 21 December 2025 — a date in the future — instead of the present date.
The Federal Ministry of Education and the Minister of Education did not post this circular on any of their official social‑media handles (X and Instagram). Despite several media houses publishing the story, no concrete evidence confirms the circular actually originated from the ministry.
Two Separate Circulars
Following the alleged closure of Federal Unity Schools, PRIME TIME NEWS reporter attempted to verify the authenticity of the circulars by conducting a simple Google reverse‑image search and checking the official handles of the Federal Government. The investigation uncovered two distinct circulars, both claiming to be from the Federal Ministry of Education:
1. First circular (dated 21 December 2025):
“Closure of 41 Federal Unity Colleges”
2. Second circular (dated 21 November 2025):
“Closure of 47 Federal Unity Colleges.”
With both citing that the closedown is due to security challenges.
Although these two alleged circulars have been widely spread online and published across media outlets, there has been no official statement—no press release, no post on the ministry’s social‑media handles, no live interview by the Minister of Education, nor any comment from other stakeholders confirming the circulars.
The incident follows the abduction of 25 girls from Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School, Kebbig State, after the principal was killed, and the kidnapping of students from St. Mary’s Catholic School. Social media users demanded boarding‑school closures. Though the alleged circulars are circulating, the Federal Ministry of Education and the Minister have not publicly confirmed them at the time of filling in this report.