Students Return To School In Kogi As Government Declares Date For Schools Reopening

The Kogi State government has ordered primary, secondary and tertiary institutions in the state to reopen as from September 14, 2020.

The development was made public on Tuesday by the State’s Commissioner for Education, Science, and Technology, Hon. Wemi Jones during a press briefing in Lokoja, the State capital.

Jones explained that the decision to reopen schools was taken after due consultation with all relevant stakeholders in the state and readiness to comply with COVID-19 health and safety protocols.

He said: “You will recall that His Excellency, Gov. Yahaya Bello, had directed the closure of all schools from primary to tertiary institutions in the state from March 23rd, 2020, because of the ravaging COVID-19 pandemic.

“Subsequently, upon the directive of the Federal Ministry of Education, exit classes were opened for Primary 6, JSS3 and SS3 in Kogi on August 10, 2020, to particularly allow the SS3 classes to prepare and write the WAEC examination.

“Therefore, upon further review having had several meetings with relevant stakeholders, His Excellency has directed that all schools in Kogi State should fully reopen on September 14, 2020, that is two weeks from today.”

The Commissioner stressed that the decision was reached following a careful evaluation of the state’s COVID-19 status, saying “we have not recorded any negative report as far as COVID-19 pandemic is concerned.

“Hence, His Excellency dimmed it fit for every school to open for full academic activities.

“The ministry will review the state’s Academic Calendar accordingly to reflect on the new development, and the details would be worked out and released to the relevant stakeholders in due course before resumption.

“However, we encouraged that all relevant education stakeholders like ANCOPSS, ASSUS, SUBEB, NAPPS, Heads of Tertiary Institutions in Kogi State, NUT, STETSCOM and every other stakeholder are very free to liaise with us at the ministry for further clarification.

“We are equally informing the general public, parents, guardians, schools heads that we are very particular about the health and safety of our learners in Kogi State.

“So, the State Government will not stop at anything to ensure that our learners are kept in good condition as far as COVID-19 pandemic and indeed other diseases or health issues are concerned”, he said.

For the tertiary institutions in the state, the Commissioner disclosed that he personally put a call through to each of their heads to confirm readiness to reopen for academic activities and all of them confirmed readiness to reopen.

“For the higher institutions, I have personally placed direct telephone calls to the heads of all state’s tertiary institutions and I had discussions with them to ascertain their level of preparedness. It appears that all of them are fully ready for schools’ reopening.

“We have equally asked them to get in touch with the ministry should there be any further requirements in order for them to make their institutions safe for the benefit of students and staff,” the Commissioner said.

Naija News reports the federal government has warned against the hasty resumption of schools amidst declarations by some state government for students to return to schools amidst the Coronavirus pandemic.