The federal government has ordered the reopening of all schools in Nigeria.
The minister of education, Adamu Adamu, made the announcement during a press briefing in Abuja on Friday.
He advised all institutions to adhere to the guidelines for the reopening of schools, as earlier announced by the presidential task force.
He said all unity schools should open by October 12 “while states and private schools will determine their own modalities of reopening.”
It was reported earlier how the federal government ordered the closure of tertiary institutions, secondary and primary schools nationwide following the outbreak of coronavirus in the country in March.
Mr Adamu said the decision to reopen the schools was because the COVID-19 infection figure is declining.
“We have consulted widely with stakeholders in the sector including the Association of Private Schools (NAPPS), Provosts of Colleges of Education, Rectors of Polytechnics, Vice-Chancellors of Universities, State Governors, Commissioners of Education and other development partners on the matter and secured their support and cooperation,” he said.
He said adequate sanctions await any school owner that does not comply with the safety guidelines which may result in an outbreak of coronavirus in the school.
He advised schools to be vigilant, strict and rigid in the implementation of COVID-19 protocols for the safety of the children, insisting that nothing should be taken for granted.
“Safe distancing procedures should be regularly practised. Additionally, schools should develop and display simple context-specific reference protocols on the day to day actions to be operated in each school,” he said.
He also advised schools to make water and sanitation facilities available across the schools.
States reopen
Many states including Lagos, Oyo, Kano and Enugu, have since announced dates for the reopening of schools in their domains.
Giving a further breakdown, the spokesperson of the education minister, Ben Goong, said the Federal Ministry of Education has written to National Universities Commission ( NUC), National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE) and The National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) to work on modalities and decide when they intend to open.
However, he did not say anything regarding the Academic Staff Union of Universities which has been on strike for six months now.
ASUU declared an indefinite strike despite the closure of all tertiary institutions by the federal government.
Earlier, the government released a schedule for various national examinations for exit classes including Junior Secondary School (JSS) 3 and Senior Secondary School (SSS) 3.
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These include the Senior Secondary Certificate Examination (SSCE) for SSS3 students conducted by the National Examination Council (NECO) which will start on October 5 and end on November 18.
