Managing Interfaith Dialogue Programmes in Multi-Religious Secondary Schools in Kano State

This study examines the management of interfaith dialogue programmes in multi-religious secondary schools in Kano State, North West Nigeria, a geopolitical context with a significant history of religious tension but also a growing commitment to peaceful coexistence education. Using a descriptive mixed-methods design, data are collected from 20 school administrators, 40 religion teachers, and 160 students across eight government secondary schools in Kano Municipal, Nasarawa, and Fagge Local Government Areas. Questionnaires assess programme awareness, implementation quality, and perceived impact on student attitudes, while interviews with school principals and chaplains provide administrative perspectives. Findings indicate that schools with structured, regularly scheduled interfaith dialogue sessions report significantly higher levels of student cross-religious friendship, mutual respect, and conflict avoidance behaviour compared to schools without such programmes. Programme effectiveness is strongly correlated with teacher training quality, institutional support from school leadership, and the involvement of community religious leaders as occasional facilitators. Major implementation challenges include lack of standardised curriculum, inadequate teacher preparation, and parental resistance from both Muslim and Christian communities. The study recommends the development of a state-level interfaith education policy for Kano's secondary school system and the training of dedicated interfaith education coordinators in each educational district. Keywords: interfaith dialogue, secondary schools, Kano State, religious education management, peace education