Federal Government has approved January 18 as resumption date for schools after reaching consensus with Governors, Commissioners and other stakeholders.
According to TheNation, the decision was reached at a meeting between the Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu and Commissioners of Education in Abuja.
It would be recalled that tertiary institutions nationwide were closed for over 9 months in 2020 partly because of the protracted strike action of the union as well as the COVID19 pandemic.
ASUU on December 23 called off their strike and National Universities Commission (NUC) thereafter asked Universities to resume academic activities on January 18.
Read Also: COVID-19: NUC Directs Universities To Reopen January 18
The directive for reopening came with a strong warning that school administrators must ensure strict adherence to all COVID19 protocols which include sanitizing, wearing of facemasks as well as social distancing.
However, some members of ASUU believe that the resumption date isn’t feasible as most of the universities are currently not equipped to adhere to the COVID19 protocols.
Chairmen of various chapters of the union in various institutions said the COVID-19 protocols cannot be adhered to in classrooms and hostels that are already crowded.
Read Also: COVID-19: Schools’ Resumption Date Remains January 18 – PTF
Giving a fresh directive, Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, who met with Commissioners of Education in Abuja, said it was okay that the schools should be re-opened.
He said,
You will recall that at the Monday briefing of the PTF, I mentioned that the task force directed our ministry to review the January 18 planned resumption date and come back with a decision on whether to retain it or further extend the school closure. Based on that directive, senior officials in the ministry met on the matter. We took a decision on the matter.
According to him, the government had extensive discussions with state governors, proprietors of schools, labour /staff unions and students’ representatives.
We have had extensive discussions with state governors, proprietors of schools, labour /staff unions and students’ representatives. And the consensus is that we should reopen all schools.
But the reopening of schools will be in compliance with COVID-19 protocols, especially strict adherence to non-pharmaceutical procedures.
He stressed;
Apart from that, we decided to also consult with other stakeholders, like state commissioners for education. We have also done that. The outcome of our consultation is that majority of the stakeholders want the January 18 resumption date to remain.
So, it is now our collective decision that the resumption should remain January 18. We intend to make the formal announcement either today (Thursday) or tomorrow (Friday).
