COVID-19: No date yet for schools’ resumption, says FG

In view of the ongoing battle against the rampaging COVID-19 pandemic, the Federal Government has restated the uncertainty over a firm date for the resumption of learning activities in schools across the nation.

This was disclosed by the Minister of State for Education, Mr. Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba.

Specifically, the Minister revealed that no date has been fixed yet for full schools’ resumption. However, he disclosed that the Federal Government had continued to engage stakeholders on the matter.

Nwajiuba stated this during the briefing of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 on Monday in Abuja.

Nevertheless, he expressed optimism that the date for resumption was around the corner; adding, that ‘‘we are not going to be brandishing dates.” He disclosed that himself and the Minister of Education; Adamu Adamu, met some stakeholders in tertiary education earlier in the day on the issue.

Nwajiuba said about 78 privately-owned universities were insisting that they were ready for resumption. On the other hand, he stated that the response from government-owned universities was still “50-50.” Furthermore, he said that after aggregating opinions; he would return to the PTF to review the situation and then go ahead to make a pronouncement.

The minister urged students of tertiary institutions; who were protesting the continued closure of their schools to be a little more patient with the government.

Meanwhile, the concerns over the resumption of schools come as Nigeria racked up over 1000 COVID-19 deaths.

The country hit the 1000-mark milestone in COVID-19 related deaths on Sunday, August 23, 2020. Furthermore, a lot of reservations have been expressed in several quarters over the proposed resumption of schools. A school of thought is of the opinion that it may spark an explosion in new cases of COVID-19 across the country.

Also, the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has remained one of the foremost voices warning the government against reopening schools now.