COVID-19: Confusion as states divided over FG's plan to review school resumption

- Some states have expressed different views over January 18 school resumption

- The FG had on Monday, January 11, said it is considering the review of the resumption over hike in COVID-19 cases

- According to the report, while Anambra state postponed its resumption date to January 26, Plateau state said the January 18 resumption remains sacrosanct

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Following the federal government's plan to review school resumption slated for January 18, over the spike in COVID-19 across the country, some states are divided over the date.

The Nation reports that there have been mixed reactions by the states which have announced different resumption dates for public schools despite the proposed review by the federal government.

Legit.ng gathered that findings revealed there is no uniform resumption date for public schools in Nigeria.

It would be recalled that the federal government said it had not postponed school resumption indefinitely, adding that most schools are preparing to resume on January 18 as directed by the Presidential Taskforce (PTF) on COVID-19.

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The report said that on Tuesday, January 12, the National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools (NAPPS) said it would meet on Wednesday, January 13, to take a position on the school resumption in the light of the review proposed by the federal government.

Speaking on the development, the national president of NAPPS, Yomi Otubela, said in a statement that the group had been consulting with stakeholders on the matter.

He said:

“To this end, NAPPS BOT, National Executive Council/ Central Working Committee will hold an emergency meeting tomorrow (today) Wednesday January 13, 2021 morning, afternoon, and evening to deliberate on this issue.”

In her submission, the founder of the Concerned Parents and Educators’ Network, a group of over 150,000 educators and parents nationwide, Yinka Ogunde, said resumption should be premised on the COVID-19 data.

She said if there is an increase, resumption could be delayed for one or two weeks.

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States’ resumption plans

With the hike in COVID-19 cases in the country, the Anambra state government has shifted the resumption date to January 26.

The governor of the state, Willie Obiano, in a broadcast, said the schools shall not reopen on January 18, 2021, as earlier scheduled.

He added that the schools would re-open after two weeks to enable the principals and teachers to prepare for the return of children.

Also, the Kaduna state government said it would announce a resumption date only when it deems it safe for pupils to return.

Shehu Usman Muhammad, the commissioner of education, said the state government would review the state of COVID-19 cases before fixing a date for resumption.

However, Plateau state commissioner of information, Dan Manjang, said schools would resume on January 18.

The Kwara state government also said its January 18 resumption date remained unchanged.

Governor AbdulRaman Abdulrazaq’s spokesperson, Rafiu Ajakaye, said the position of the state government on the resumption of schools has not changed as of January 12.

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In its position, the Bauchi state government said there was no going back on its January 18 resumption date.

Aliyu Tilde, the state commissioner for education, said till date, not a single case of COVID-19 infection has been reported in schools across the state.

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On its part, the Niger state government disclosed that it would follow the directive of the Presidential Taskforce on COVID-19 on the resumption of schools.

Meanwhile, Legit.ng had previously reported that the federal government declared that it would review the January 18 date fixed for resumption of schools across the country.

It was reported that the government on Monday, January 11, attributed the decision to the second wave of COVID-19 currently ravaging the country.

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Source: Legit.ng