Schools reopening: Bauchi, Enugu, Ogun, others rule out resumption

Some states in Nigeria have ruled out the full reopening of schools, including tertiary institutions, saying that they would not follow the Lagos State example.

Daily Times recalls that Lagos State on Saturday, August 29, announced that schools including tertiary institution will resume in September.

Gov Babajide Sanwo-Olu, said higher institutions would resume on September  14, while the resumption date for primary and secondary schools was tentatively fixed for September 21.

He said the decision was informed by the decline in the number of COVID-19 cases in the  state.

However, a report gathered from the Punch shows that states including Ogun, Katsina, Bauchi, Enugu, Sokoto, Gombe and  Ekiti on Sunday ruled out the decision of full schools reopening.

The Ogun State Government on Sunday, August 30, said it was not in a hurry to reopen tertiary institutions, secondary and primary schools.

READ ALSO: COVID-19: No date yet for school reopening — Minister

The government said it would avoid taking an uninformed decision to reopen schools because Lagos State had made the announcement to reopen schools.

Also, the Coordinator of the Ekiti State COVID-19 Response Task Force, Prof Bolaji Aluko, said the state government would observe happenings in the secondary schools.

Aluko said, “We won’t follow any person’s timetable. We want to see  events after the WASSCE and the JSSCE, whether students got sick, whether teachers got sick. So far, we have not seen any breakdown of students or teachers falling ill. We are still studying them. If there is no outbreak of illness, then we may start the schools.

“But for now, we have not decided. We have not known the basis for the directive in Lagos State. But there is the possibility that our tertiary institutions resume this year. I think secondary schools also, before the end of the year. I have asked around, we have not seen any hot spot of COVID-19 as far as the ongoing examinations are concerned.”

READ ALSO: Lagos announces reopening of Universities, primary, secondary schools

The Enugu State Government Commissioner of Education, Prof. Uche Eze, also said it was in contact with the Federal Ministry of Education, saying there were no plans to reopen schools yet.

He stated, “No decision to that effect yet. We are in close touch with the Federal Ministry of Education.”

The Bauchi State Commissioner of Education, Dr Aliyu Tilde,  said, “Bauchi does not follow Lagos. We will open when we are ready.”

In Katsina State, the Public Relations Officer in the state Ministry of Education, Mallam Salisu Kerau,  said there was no notice yet on resumption of schools in the state.

Also, the Gombe State Commissioner for Higher Education Dr. Meshack Audu said, “No specific date at the moment, but we are monitoring the situation. Government is not happy that students have stayed at home this long. Government is doing everything possible to ensure their safe return.

The Permanent Secretary in the Sokoto state Ministry for Higher Education, Othman Ali, said “the decision on the likely date for the resumption of our tertiary schools will be decided by the task force  on COVID-19, constituted by the state government.”

Reacting, the Minister of State for Education,  Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba, had in an interview said there was no new development on the reopening of schools, adding that the status quo remained.

He said, “If we have a new position on that, we will issue it.”