Two days after the second phase of lockdown ended on June 30, 2020, the federal government announced plans to reopen schools on July 13, 2020 to enable final year students to write the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE).
The hint was dropped by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation and Chairman, Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19, Boss Mustapha, during COVID-19 daily briefing in Abuja on July 3, 2020.
This was contrary to his earlier statement on June 29, 2020 when he declared that schools shall remain closed pending further evaluations.
Soon after schools began preparations to re-open for graduating s students, the Minister of Education, Malam Adamu Adamu, declared that the government will not reopen schools given the rising cases of COVID-19 infections.
The minister, who briefed State House correspondents after the seventh virtual Federal Executive Council (FEC) chaired by President Muhammadu Buhari, said schools would remain closed until it was certified that the situation was safe.
Malam Adamu said this was not the right time to open schools, adding that government would not mind forfeiting the 2020 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE), earlier scheduled to hold from August 5 to September 5, to save the lives of students.
The education minister explained that students would find it difficult to keep themselves safe if schools were allowed to reopen now.
He said while many school activities require students’ interacting with one another, they may not be able to observe necessary COVID-19 protocols including social distancing.
He said one infected student who goes into the class can infect everyone in the class.
It is worse in the hostel where large number of students share many facilities and utensils; a factor in community transmission of the disease.
Speaking further, Malam Adamu said the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) cannot determine the resumption date of schools in Nigeria.
This position countered the earlier announcement by the PTF on COVID-19 that this year’s WASSCE will take place between August and September.
It would be recalled that the 2020 WASSCE was postponed indefinitely in April after it was earlier scheduled to commence in May.
It was postponed after schools were shut down across the country in a bid to contain the spread of the COVID-19.
In compliance with the minister’s advice, governors of the 19 northern states met last week and took a decision not to re-open schools.
However, the House of Representatives at a plenary this week adopted a resolution that calls on the federal government to reconsider its decision on the re-opening of schools for students to write the WASSCE.
The lawmakers advised that the same set of protocols used in the re-opening of worship centres, markets and banks could be adopted in the re-opening of schools to enable graduating students in secondary schools to write the 2020 WASSCE.
One reality that stares the entire world today is that no one knows how long the COVID-19 pandemic will last, in which case nations must find ways not only of coping with it but also of saving all sectors including education, which is already in a bad state in Nigeria, from collapse.
Nigeria must not wait for a vaccine to be found or for the pandemic to end before finding solutions to manage COVID-19 challenges.
While it is costly and painful to continue to keep schools shut, it would be costlier and more painful to re-open schools when it is not safe to do so.
Students in examination classes at the primary, junior and senior secondary school levels could be allowed to resume to write their respective examinations; hoping that as grown up children, there would be reasonable compliance to safety protocols.
If, as they write their examinations, reports from regular surveillance show a sharp rise in the spread of the disease among students, government should not wait a minute longer to shut the schools.
The final report of the conduct of examinations for graduating students should determine how and when schools should re-open for other students and pupils to resume lessons.
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