NATIONAL: Obaseki differs with Ministry of Education over schools’ resumption

Says schools in Edo to remain closed

AS most states across the federation gear up to reopen schools on Monday, January 18, amidst the overwhelming spike in cases of coronavirus, including fatalities, Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo has said that schools in the state will remain closed until February 1.

Noting that the state is still grappling with the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic,
Obaseki yold a news conference yesterday in Benin, that “We have decided that schools will not reopen for now; this situation will be reviewed by February 1. We will like our own schools to reopen on February 1, depending on the situation at that point in time.

Between now and that time, we will be going round to make sure that these schools have running water.”

“We want to ensure spacing for the children are in place and we want to ensure that they have temperature checks at the entrance of each school. Each classroom should not hold more than 30 per cent of the students; the Ministry of Education and the Edo State Universal Basic Education Board (EDOSUBEB) are working all of that out,” he added.

The governor stated further that within the next two weeks, the state government should be able to finalise plans to allow children go back to school. He added that the meantime, the government will reactivate EdoBest at home.

He expressed hope that school children would not stay at home longer than expected, adding that there is the possibility of introducing break after every hour to enable students to go out and get fresh air.

“You will recall that during the first wave, we were able to create over 9,000 virtual classrooms for these children to learn. Research has also shown that this virus infects more children and youths at this point in time. As at yesterday (Thursday), we had 46 new cases, bringing the total number to 3,189 confirmed cases,” he said.

According to Governor Obaseki, Edo State has in the last 46 days, recorded 493 new cases, 214 recovery and 12 deaths. He added that the non-compliance to COVID-19 safety protocols had been largely responsible to the wide spread during the second wave.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Education has said that Monday school resumption date stands and all schools must comply with COVID-19 safety protocols.

A total of 23 people were reported dead from the virus on Thursday, the highest daily figure to be recorded so far since the outbreak of the pandemic in the country, while almost 1,500 new cases were recorded.

Lagos State University College of Medicine (LASUCOM) on Thursday shut down its campus after some students and officials tested positive for the virus.

Confirming the development, Head, Centre for Information, Press and Public Relations of the University, Ademola Adekoya said:

“Three students of the medical college have been confirmed to be COVID-19 positive and are undergoing treatment.”

However, Adekoya did not disclose the number of officials who tested positive, but stated that the school has commenced contact tracing, while the students have been asked to go home and the hostels shut.

According to him the college management has directed students to self-isolate for 14 days and if they develop any symptoms, they should present themselves for treatment.