Safety Is Like Sending Our Children To War’
said unless the government does that, parents might be reluctant to send their children back to school.
He further stated that students should be taught and guided to observe social distancing, adding that parents should bear the burden of providing face masks for their children. He also advised that pupils and students should be monitored in class and during break period to ensure they comply with all the necessary rules that would guarantee their safety.
“The above are important in order to avoid the spread of the pandemic in our schools. If the state government is not ready to make such provisions, it should not re- open our schools,” he stressed.
A mother, Joy Ipke, suggested that there should be a ban on admission and registration of pupils or students from other states, advising that both private and public schools should abide by it.
has declared that it would only re- open schools in the state when the Federal Government gives a nod to that effect.
Speaking on the state of facilities in the schools ahead of the eventual re- opening, the state Commissioner for Basic Education, Prof. Kate Omenugha, said the government was sensitive to the dangers that would come with re- opening of schools under a pandemic.
“Government knows what it is doing, so we are not going to reopen the schools and risk the lives of our children to COVID- 19 pandemic just because some people are calling on us to resume,” he said.
He said the state government introduced the ‘ Teaching On Air’ programme one week after the closure of schools in the state to ensure that pupils and students remain busy, stressing that the state would not be in a haste to re- open schools. Omenugha said: “When schools were shut down on March 24 because of Coronavirus pandemic, we decided to engage school children in something meaningful instead of leaving them to idle away. In the second week into the programme, we opened the lines for students to call in, so that we can get feedbacks because it is being streamed live on Facebook and Youtube.”
He noted that the programme has been beneficial to pupils and students, saying the state had plans to continue with virtual learning even when schools re- open as part of measures to contain the spread of Coronavirus.
“When schools eventually resume, we are not going to use only the traditional face- to- face method of learning but we will also teach the children through electronic and online media.
“The schools will also run morning and afternoon sessions so as to maintain physical and social distancing. The government is also planning to reach people in rural areas by providing them with radios,” Omenugha added.
She disclosed that the state government was planning to train teachers on the use of technology ahead of school resumption even as she pleaded with parents to provide their children with phones that would enable them to participate in virtual learning.
An educationist, Nehemiah Obuorah, however, said there was no need to re- open schools now, warning that “anybody thinking of re- opening schools in the face of spike in COVID- 19 cases is making a grave mistake.”
Obuorah, who is the owner of Netherlands International Schools in Awka and Abuja, predicted that, “once schools reopen, it will open a floodgate of pupils and students going on admission in hospitals due to Coronavirus infection.” He said that government has an obligation to ensure safety of pupils and students by decontaminating the school premises three weeks before re- opening of schools with anti- virus fumigation chemicals, advising that students should be given facemasks free of charge and tutored to observe physical distancing, regular hand washing with soap or regular use of hand sanitisers.
A business woman based in Onitsha, Amaka Chinenye Okoronkwo, also warned against re- opening schools at a time the country was recording increasing cases of COVID19.
She urged the government to keep the schools closed until there is a vaccine for the virus. She feared that children would easily spread the virus to many homes if schools were re- opened now.
“Whenever it is feasible to re- open schools, government should think it wise to provide palliatives and use teachers to enforce observance of personal hygiene like regular hand- washing, regular use of hand sanitiser and physical distancing in their various schools,” she added.
are no signs that the Enugu State government is planning to re- open schools for now. The much the government has done since it was forced to close public and private schools in the state following rising cases of Coronavirus was to begin a radio school for primary and secondary schools children in the state.
Many observers believe that the state has been waiting for the Federal Government to make a pronouncement on reopening of schools before rolling out its own timetable. Efforts to speak with state Commissioner for Education, Prof Uche Eze, on plans for resumption of schools proved abortive. He did not respond to phone calls or text messages sent to his mobile lines on the issue.
A source in the Ministry of Education, however, told The Guardian on condition of anonymity that “there are no plans for schools’ resumption for now,” adding, “I think the government is concentrating efforts on stemming the tide of the coronavirus. But I also think that since we have been following directives from the Federal Government, if there is an attempt to open schools nationally, I believe Enugu will join.”
Asked whether there are modalities being mulled in case the Federal Government lifts the order against re- opening of schools, he said: “Such is not within my knowledge. I think the Commissioner ( education) should be in a position to know. He is the one that attends executive council meetings.”
Findings showed that the premises of most public and even private schools in the state were overgrown at the time of filing this report. Some have also had their roofs blown off by heavy windstorms associated with the rainy season. But amid the waiting game coupled with the high cost of eclasses, which several private schools have been conducting in the state, some parents have decided to engage private tutors for their children.
A father of four, Ralph Ugochukwu, said: “I engaged a teacher for two of my children in primary school. The teacher comes to my house to handle them while the other two go to a lesson centre to do their learning.
“I couldn’t afford the cost of e- learning – buying data, laptops, coupled with electricity that has become irregular in the state. These things are not easy to come by any longer. So when I make up the money, I can conveniently afford to pay for their tutorial.”
Asked what he would want the government to put in place before re- opening schools, Ugochukwu said there should be hand washing points and hand sanitisers for pupils and students, adding that classrooms should be arranged in such a manner that pupils would not be crowded.
He added: “We can have double sessions per day comprising morning and afternoon sessions. This will reduce the number of students in the class and reduce the time the students spend in the school. If possible, Saturday could as well be used for school.”
Many people now ask: when would schools re- open? That question is fuelled by such thoughts as: if children could join their parents in the market, go to worship centres with them and possibly travel with them, why can’t they be allowed to go to school?