Observing social distancing our greatest challenge to reopening – VC

Observing social distancing in view of the ongoing calls for reopening of universities is one of our greatest challenges, the Vice Chancellor, Bayero University, Kano, Professor Sagir Abbas, has said.

In a chat with Daily Trust in Kano, Abbas said how to go about social distancing is their worry, with an auditorium having over 1,000 students.

According to him, lectures will now have to be divided into segments as the protocol stipulates, and breaking classes amounts to double or tripling the jobs of lecturers.

“If not that, then you have to employ another lecturer to handle other classes. This is our greatest challenge. We are still reaching out and waiting for the modalities on how to go about it. In the western world, it is doable unlike us here it will be very difficult because no teachers or structures to cope with this large number of students,” he said.

He said all other protocols like use of hand sanitisers, temperature equipment and face masks can be easily dealt with because already they had taken inventory of all that is needed. “But if the supervisory body, NUC, can give us the way out we are okay, if we must observe social distancing this a great problem. Spreading the lectures also comes with other things like over time and allowances because of the more classes being taken. Let’s say you even have the space then you are talking of the teacher taking six classes instead of one,” he said.