– The PTF on COVID-19 has given fresh updates on reopening of schools across the country
– Chukwuemaka Nwajiuba, the minister of state for education, on Monday, June 22, said Nigeria is not yet safe for reopening of schools
– The minister, however, said that the FG was concerned about curtailing the spread of COVID-19 in Nigeria
Following the increasing cases of coronavirus in the country, the federal government has warned the state governments against the reopening of schools because of pressure from the children and parents.
Minister of state for education, Chukwuemaka Nwajiuba, who spoke on Monday, June 22, while reacting to questions at the daily briefing of the
Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19, also said the federal ministry of education did not give Oyo state any guidance to reopen
schools.
Nwajiuba said he was particularly concerned about the spike in the confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Oyo state, saying it was Ogun state under lockdown that was actually the concern of the government.
The Secretary to the Government of the
Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha, during a presidential briefing however, announced that the final year students preparing for the West African
Examination Council (WAEC)’s Senior Senior
Secondary School Examination (SSCE),
National Examination Council (NECO) and
National Business and Technical Education Board
(NABTEB) examinations would soon be allowed to resume for revisions.
He appealed to parents and other stakeholders to continue to bear with the government while the situation is being monitored so as to guarantee the safety of children when the
schools are eventually reopened.
The minister said: “The ministry of education did not give guidance to Oyo state to reopen schools.
We also think that is a little bit of contradictory because if you look next to them is Ogun state that actually had a lockdown.