The Federal Government on Monday announced that students in graduating classes in primary and secondary schools are allowed to resume classes in preparation for the various examinations.
The students expected to resume are in Primary 6 who are to write the Common Entrance Examination; Junior Secondary School 3 students and Senior Secondary School 3 students.
The Presidential Task Force (PTF) announced this in its daily briefing in Abuja, adding that though it asked those categories of students to resume, students in other classes are not allowed to resume.
Chairman of the PTF and Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr Boss Mustapha, while disclosing this, also said the students will be made to put on face masks compulsorily and observe all other protocols.
While private school owners are raring to go and re-open schools, most parents are not ready yet to release their children into the Covid-19 uncertainties out there.
The federal government has revealed that 80 per cent of parents have kicked against the reopening of schools.
According to State Minister of State for Education Emeka Nwajiuba, a survey by the ministry showed that most parents are opposed to schools reopening at the moment because they don’t want their children to be used as experiment.
“We are keeping the children at home because you can’t see coronavirus with your naked eyes and can’t know if a child is asymptomatic or carrying the virus. If he does, and he goes back and infects another person, there is no way for us to know,” the minister said of the survey.
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“If there are parents willing to experiment – to check whether it can work or not, we can invite them to a test,” the parents were quoted as saying.
South Africa, the most infected country in Africa, diced wih the idea of re-opening schools. The result was a massive protest by parents following the spread of the virus among the pupils.
Nigeria, ranking second after South Africa, currently has 22,614 confirmed cases of COVID-19.
No fewer t 7,822 patients have been discharged, while 549 have died.
High school students in Belarus eyeing a slot in college attended the first day of national entrance exams on Thursday.
All classrooms will be equipped with hand sanitizers, and seats will be arranged taking into account the requirements of social distancing.
According to the education ministry, a total of 64,300 people have registered for the exams, down from 76,900 in 2019. Russian, English, mathematics and biology are the most popular subjects this year.
Traditionally, the college entrance exam in Belarus begins on June 13. However, due to the coronavirus outbreak, authorities postponed the exams this year. Tests will run through July 23.
Bowen University, Iwo, Osun State, on Tuesday, announced the decision to sack over 100 workers.
NRM gathered that the sacked staff received their letters of disengagement through email late on Tuesday.
One of the affected staff said the school claimed that the economic crisis caused by COVID-19 pandemic was the reason for the retrenchment.
The mass retrenchment is reportedly “generating tension on the campus” and some are threatening to protest the action.
An affected staff said: “Over 100 of us are affected and we may resort to violence because the reason for the sack was not genuine.
“The Vice Chancellor, Prof Joshua Ogunwole, recently bought a vehicle worth over N42 million despite the economic situation. So you can see that it is caused by wickedness and insensitivity.”
University spokesman Toba Adaramola confirmed that the institution sacked some workers, including academic and non-academic staff. He said about 8-10% of the workforce was affected.
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He said: “The decision affected those in academics and non-academic staff.
“In August 2018, it was discovered that the university is heading toward inflection point and the management deliberated on the reasons for the inflection.
“It was discovered that change of culture was part of the problem. Hence we embraced technology and so many staffers were no longer needed to perform certain duties.
“Although it is a painful decision but one that is necessary to sustain the university since it is not public institution that can rely on any subvention apart from the fees it charged its students.”
The Federal Government on Wednesday proposed that schools must create isolation spaces before reopening the learning facilities.
The Ministry of Education disclosed this in a document titled: “Guidelines for schools and learning facilities reopening after COVID-19 pandemic closure,” submitted to the National Assembly on Tuesday.
Each school, according to the federal government, is required to create temporary isolation spaces and fully-equipped clinics before reopening.
The government mandated the school managements to establish a referral system, including protocols and procedures to take if learners, teachers, administrators, and other education personnel become unwell while in schools.
The government also charged any state wishing to reopen schools to “hold adequate consultations with the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 and the parents on the matter.
The Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has set 160 as the minimum cut-off mark for universities across the country in the 2020 admission session.
JAMB’s registrar Ishaq Oloyede made the announcement on Tuesday June 16, after the 20th policy meeting on admissions to tertiary institutions. The cut-off mark for polytechnics was pegged at 120, while that of Colleges of Education remains at 100 and above.
Commenting on the admission statistics for 2019, Oloyede said that 612,557 candidates were offered admission but 510,957 admission spaces remained unused by the institutions. He added that only 1,157,977 candidates who had the required five credits with English and Mathematics, sat for its Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) last year.
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Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu on his own part said he has directed JAMB and tertiary institutions to proceed with the conduct of their 2020/2021 admissions which will commence in August.
Adamu said;
“As major stakeholders, we must jointly come up with reactions that would realign our programmes to these new realities.
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“JAMB and tertiary institutions could take advantage of the current situation, consider candidates with previous years SSCE and other qualifying results, to proceed on with the admission process.
“Whatever arrangement that the country comes up with in the long run will surely accommodate those who will be taking the examination when the opportunity to do so is worked out.”
Nigeria’s Minister of State for Education, Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba, has released the conditions for the reopening of schools and tertiary institutions.
He spoke at the 2020 Policy Meeting on Admissions to Tertiary Institutions in Nigeria by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board n Abuja on Tuesday.
Nwajiuba said, “All Institutions must have (1) Hand-washing facilities, (2) Body temperature checks (3) Body disinfectants at all entering points to their major facilities including the gates, hostels, classes, offices, etc. (4) The whole premises of each institution must be decontaminated and (5) All efforts must be geared toward maintenance of the highest level of hygiene (6) Ensure Social and Physical Distancing in class sizes and meeting spaces.”
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The minister, however, warned them against reopening schools without the Federal Government’s authorisation.
“While we Iook forward to easing the lockdown which will ultimately lead to re-opening of our campuses, I urge all the Heads of Institutions not to wait till the announcement on reopening before putting in place all necessary measures in compliance with the protocols and advisories of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control,” he added.
The Federal Government has revealed when schools will reopen, amid the coronavirus outbreak in the country.
Dr Osagie Ehanire, Minister for Health said schools will reopen when government is able to ensure balance in safety and preventing of COVID-19 explosion across the country.
Schools, religious and public gatherings were banned about two months ago by the federal government due to the coronavirus outbreak.
After months of closure, government, however, relaxed the ban on religious gatherings for four weeks while schools will remain closed.
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However, Ehanire, while addressing reporters during the 100th day briefing of the presidential task force on COVID-19 in Abuja, over the weekend said no date has been fixed for reopening of schools.
The Minister said government would continue to monitor and study the situations with a view to deciding when to reopen schools.
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According to Ehanire: “There is no fixed date on schools’ resumption. The presidential task force on COVID-19 is studying the situation, carrying out reviews every two and four weeks to assess the situation and judge when it is safe.
“The Federal Government is taking very seriously the balance between safety and preventing of disease explosion, and the opening of schools.
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“We are encouraging schools to embrace online training and education as much as possible.
“As soon as the details are established and the risk of transmission is measured and established, then, schools will reopen.”
Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, said on Thursday the state government would take the decision on the reopening of schools in two weeks.
The governor, who disclosed this during a press briefing at the Government House, Marina, said the decision would be taken after an extensive meeting with stakeholders in the education sector.
He said: “I know we are all eager to know the plans we have for the reopening of our learning institutions. There is still a lot more works to be done in this regard and we are looking at the educational sector very differently.
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“However, we will continue to have our online learning at our seven higher institutions.
“On primary and secondary schools, we will be engaging with the Ministry of Education and Lagos State Safety Commission, and we will be coming out with a full and specific pronouncement in two weeks’ time.
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“Once the protocols, have been agreed with the stakeholders at the primary and secondary level, as to when and how the schools will be reopening.”
Sanwo-Olu also gave the go-ahead for all manufacturing companies to operate from 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. daily.
Teachers in the West African state of Mali went on strike Tuesday, the first day schools reopened after being closed for two months, over fears of inadequate protection against coronavirus.
Details of the number of students affected were unavailable, but seven teachers’ unions are striking, officials said, in a move that will hit public primary and secondary schools, as well as teacher-training colleges.
The government shut schools to curb coronavirus in late March. These reopened on Tuesday, but only for final year students who are facing exams.
Sambou Diadie Fofana, the general secretary of Mali’s National Union of Secondary School Teachers, told AFP that the strike was triggered by a “lack of measures (taken) in schools to protect everyone”.
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Authorities have recorded 1,351 coronavirus cases in the country to date, with 78 fatalities.
Mali’s education ministry did not immediately respond about the number of students and teachers who returned to school on Tuesday.
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In a meeting with education organisations on Monday, Mali’s Education Minister Mahamadou Famanta promised that facemasks and hand-washing kits would be available in schools, local media reported.
Moussa Diallo, 41, a unionised public-school teacher in the capital Bamako, said that soap and water had been made available in “several places” in his school.
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Malian teachers also walked out of classrooms in January — before coronavirus hit — over a pay dispute.
Authorities had promised salary hikes in October 2016, which never transpired.
The Presidential Taskforce on COVID-19 made this known during its daily briefing on Monday.
While giving an update on the PTF announcement, the Personal Assistant on New Media to @MBuhari, Bashir Ahmad, tweeted, “For now, all the schools are to remain closed, the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 announces the directive.
The Federal Government has said that schools would remain closed “for now”.
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“The Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 has requested the Aviation Industry to start developing protocols for domestic flights to possibly resume from June 21.
“The interstate travel remains prohibited except for goods and essential travel, the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 announces.”
The Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, Sunday asked the striking Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to return to the negotiating table with the Federal Government.
Ngige, who disclosed this in a statement signed by his media aide, Emmanuel Nzomiwu, warned that there would be consequences if the union rejected the federal government’s overtures to return to the negotiation table.
ASUU embarked on an indefinite strike in February over the federal government’s insistence on the varsity teachers’ enrollment into the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) and other issues relating to the management of the nation’s universities.
According to the statement, the minister made the call in his hometown in Alor, Anambra, where he donated palliatives worth N15 million to vulnerable households to cushion the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country.
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He said that the federal government could activate relevant labour laws to deal with the situation.
According to Ngige, the law permits the federal government to approach the National Arbitration Panel (NAP) and even the National Industrial Court (NIC) for redress on the matter.
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He said the ASUU strike was all about the disagreement over IPPIS.
The minister said: “Any other reason given by ASUU is an alibi. I invited ASUU for a zoom meeting in compliance with COVID-19 guidelines, but they insisted on meeting me face to face.
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“We have labour laws and hierarchy of arbitration. There is the NAP and NIC. If I am tired, I can refer it there.
“So the better thing is for them to come and negotiate on firsthand basis where we are not bringing an external arbitrator.”
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According to him, ASUU members as employees lacked the right to dictate to the federal government on how to receive wages.
“The important thing is for your salaries and wages to come to you. As a workman, you receive your payment as compensation for services rendered. So, that is on the statute everywhere,” he added.
Boss Mustapha, the secretary to the Government of the Federation, has on Wednesday said guidelines for the reopening of schools in Nigeriawill eb shared by Federal Government soon.
Chairman of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, Boss Mustapha, asked states, local governments, proprietors and all other stakeholders to begin to take steps that will facilitate an early and safe reopening of schools.
He stated;
“I wish to inform Nigerians that the Federal Ministry of Education will roll out measures for the self-reopening of schools.
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“The Presidential Task Force wishes to use the occasion of this celebration to congratulate our children and assure them, their parents and all stakeholders alike that all hands are on deck to reopen schools at a safe time.
“We, therefore, use this medium to urge states, local governments, proprietors and all other stakeholders to begin to take steps that will facilitate an early and safe reopening.”
Minister of State for Education, Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba, has dismissed reports that schools nationwide will be reopened for academic activities on Monday, June 8.
Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba who spoke at the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 today May 27, said a statement that was alleged to have emanated from the task force directing the opening of schools, is not true.
He said the Federal government is being careful not to allow children return to schools and expose them to the virus. He added that the Ministry will follow the guidelines and advice from the Ministry of Health and the NCDC before schools can be reopened.
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The Presidential Task Force (PTF) on the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic also assured Nigerians that plans for safe reopening of schools across the country were being put together.
Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) and Chairman of the PTF, Mr Boss Mustapha, gave the assurance on Wednesday during the daily media briefing by the task force in Abuja. He said;
“Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Nigeria was faced with the challenge of out of school children. This has now been compounded by the compelling need for closure of schools as part of the measures to limit the spread of the virus.
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“The PTF has been deliberating on this situation and wish to inform Nigerians that the Federal Ministry of Education will roll out measures to be put in place for safe re-opening of our schools.
“The Hon. Minister of Education (State) will be elaborating on the subject, this afternoon. He will also clarify the purported announcement of the resumption date which went viral last week.
“The PTF wishes to use the occasion of this celebration to congratulate our children and assure them, their parents and all stakeholders alike, that all hands are on deck to reopen the schools at a safe time.
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“We therefore use this medium to urge States, local governments, proprietors and other stakeholders to begin to take steps that will facilitate an early and safe reopening”, he said.
“In some of our previous briefings, the PTF hinted about the strengthening of community engagement in the control of COVID-19. I am pleased to inform you that a protocol has been developed and it gives community members greater involvement and ownership in identifying and supporting the case management process. The details will be unfolded in the coming days.”
The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) has announced that 2019 Batch “B” Stream 1 corpers will pass out May 28th.
It made this known in a statement on Monday, noting that the event slated for May 28 would not be marked with ceremonial parades due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The Service said the Certificate of National Service would be issued to qualified corpers at the Local Government level.
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“A full complement of NYSC Officers have been mobilised for the distribution and shall do so from ten service points in each of the Local Government Councils.
“As a precautionary measure, the distribution shall be staggered for a period of ten days in the first instance, in order to remove anxiety from the concerned corps members, in addition to making the activity seamless and less cumbersome,” the statement read in part.
The Service also urged the passing out members to observe strict discipline, orderliness, social distancing, use of facemask, hand sanitiser and proper washing of hands.
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It advised members, who at present are not in their states of service, to wait till the ban on inter-state journeys is lifted before travelling to collect their certificates.
The Federal Government had in March ordered all corpers in the country to return home as part of measures to curb the spread of the virus.
Barely two days after removing Professor Charles Uwakwe as the Registrar of the National Examination Council NECO, President Muhammadu Buhari, has appointed Professor Godswill Obioma, as the new Registrar/Chief Executive officer of the examination body.
Professor Obioma on Friday assumed duties at the Minna headquarters of the Council.
According to a statement made available to newsmen in Minna on Friday by Head Information and Public Relations of NECO, Mr Azeez Sani, Professor Obioma’s appointment was contained in a letter dated 15th May, 2020 with Reference No: FME/PS/396/C1/1/134 and signed by the Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu.
The statement states that the appointment is for an initial tenure of five years and with effect from 14th May, 2020.
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Professor Obioma takes over from Mallam Abubakar Gana who had been acting as Registrar for more than one year.
Until his appointment Prof. Obioma was the Ebonyi State Resident Electoral Commissioner of the Independent National Electoral Commission INEC.
The new appointee a professor of Education Measurement and Evaluation, was born on 12th December 1953 and hails from Bende Local Government Area of Abia State.
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He was the former Executive Secretary of the Nigeria Educational Research and Development Council, and was also the Director, Monitoring, Research and Statistics, National Business and Technical Examinations Board (NABTEB); Director Monitoring and Evaluation Universal Basic Education Programme; Director Monitoring and Evaluation National Primary Education Commission and Head, Department of Science, Mathematics and Technology, University of Jos.
An erudite scholar, Prof. Obioma has many scholarly publications to his credit.
The Federal Government has disclosed that there are plans to soon reopen schools nationwide, saying, however, that this will not be done in two weeks as being speculated in some outlets.
Minister of State for Education, Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba, made the clarification on Thursday during the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 news conference in Abuja following rumors making the round the Federal Government would reopen schools in the next two weeks.
The Federal Government had ordered the indefinite closure of educational institutions nationwide as part of measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 pandemic.
But Nwajiuba while responding to questions from the media on when the government’s plans to reopen to the schools following the easing of the lockdown, said the schools would be reopened when the safety of the school children could be guaranteed.
He said the government was wary not to endanger the lives of the school children and further spread of the coronavirus in the society.
He added that his ministry is working with other relevant stakeholders and agencies of government to put the necessary measures in place that would guarantee the safety of children before the schools are reopened.
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He said: “We all are seriously interested in reopening and I believe we will reopen soon. But I can’t confirm what your children said that we will reopen in two weeks.
“The issue around reopening has nothing to do with the availability of the schools or not. It has to do with national governance. The idea of shutting down the schools has nothing to do with the schools per se.
“You heard the chairman of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, the SGF, keep saying it is a national response. It is a single national response and everything we do flows from that.
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“When they determine, I’m sure you have seen all the experts here, that there is the measure of safety to which we can expose our children, we will gladly do that. We are watching and we are working with all bodies within and outside the country.
“The five countries of West African Examination Council (WAEC) are meeting and I just came out of a meeting with African Union (AU) Ministers of Education, everybody is concerned as you are. We hope to reopen very soon.
Nigeria President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the termination of the appointment of Prof Charles Uwakwe as the registrar and chief executive officer of the National Examinations Council (NECO).
“After due consideration of the investigative panel on the allegation of unsatisfactory conduct levelled against you and some management staff of the council, Mr. President in exercise of his powers, has approved your removal as the Registrar and Chief Executive Officer of National Examinations Council with effect from the date of your suspension from duty,” Permanent secretary of the Federal Ministry of Education, Sonny Echono said in a letter on behalf of the Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu.
Buhari also dismissed four members of the management of the exam body for various offences including alleged financial impropriety in a separate letter and appointed Abubakar Gana as NECO’s acting registrar.
Uwakwe was suspended May 2018 by the Federal Government over alleged financial mismanagement and abuse of office in awarding contracts worth N25 billion without following the due process.
The former registrar was accused of violating the Public Procurement Act (2007) and pursuant to PSR 030402 and Part 1 schedule 4 (i) of NECO Establishment Act.
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NECO in a release on Wednesday confirmed that the suspended registrar had been relieved of his appointment by the President, while four members of the management had also been dismissed.
Uwakwe was directed to hand over all the government property in his custody to the acting registrar.
Thousands of schools reopened throughout France on Tuesday as the government eases its coronavirus lockdown rules despite some fears of a second waves of infections.
According to official figures there were 348 new COVID-19 deaths on Tuesday, bringing the national total to 26,991.
Primary and nursery schools reopened however, with teachers wearing face masks and the children’s chairs separated to avoid spreading the disease.
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For Gregory Bouvier, headmaster of a nursery school in Rennes, northwest France, it was all a bit “surreal”.
“It’s not part of a nursery school’s DNA to have the children spaced apart from each other remaining at their desks and not able to share things,” he told AFP.
Education Minister Jean-Michel Blanquer hailed the reopening, which will be rolled out gradually throughout the country, including Paris schools on Thursday, before some secondary schools resume lessons next week.
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To ease the fears of parents concerned that the virus remains just a sneeze away, the government has given them the choice to allow their children to return to school or remain under lockdown at home.
Unions have criticised the decision to reopen the schools calling it “premature”.
Some scientists and parliamentary deputies have also questioned the decision.
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France began easing its two-month lockdown on Monday, with residents able venture outdoors without filling in a permit for the first time in nearly eight weeks and some shops reopening their doors.
But officials are keeping an anxious eye on events in Germany and South Korea which have reimposed some restrictions as virus cases rose after they eased lockdown measures.
The Federal Government has disclosed that the school feeding programme for pupils in primary schools will commence next week in four states.
As part of measures to cushion the impact of COVID-19 and lockdown on vulnerable households, President Muhammadu Buhari had, during his first broadcast in March, directed the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development to work with relevant state governments in developing a strategy on how to sustain the school feeding programme despite closure of schools.
In carrying out the directive, the ministry said it would liaise with state governors to work out modalities on how the feeding programme would continue while pupils are at home.
The minister in previous fora had also hinted that a door-to-door voucher distribution system would be used for the feeding exercise.
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Giving an update on the programme, the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management, and Social Development, Sadiya Farouq, said the exercise would commence in Lagos, Ogun, Kano states, and the FCT next week.
Speaking at the Karimajiji Disabled Colony in the FCT yesterday during the distribution of palliatives to Persons with Disabilities (PwDs), the minister said: “By next week, we are going to start off the school feeding programme with FCT, Lagos, Ogun, and Kano states.
The Federal Government of Nigeria has announced plans to disinfect and decontaminate schools nationwide. Muhammad Mahmood, the Minister of Environment disclosed this at the Presidential Task Force briefing on COVID-19 in Abuja.
He said the Federal Ministry of Environment would get the data of schools nationwide from the Federal Ministry of Education before commencing.
Mahmood said, “We are initiating a programme of decontaminating and disinfecting our schools before they open.
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“Because subsequently in the phases (of reopening the lockdown), I believe we will get to that point when we start opening the schools.
“So, we will be liaising with the Federal Ministry of Education to make sure we have the needed data to carry out the exercise.”
He also noted that ministry had been making efforts to commence the programme, but didn’t state when the exercise would start.
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Mahmood said, “Today we will like to brief you on our first video conference with our Environmental Health Sanitation desks across the country, the 36 states plus the FCT.
“Also in attendance was a representative of the World Health Organisation, the purpose of which is to build additional capacity and to reiterate adherence to the guidelines in this response to COVID-19.”
![COVID-19: Schools to be disinfected. [Nigeria]](https://newsworthy3news.files.wordpress.com/2020/05/psx_20200505_011701.jpg?w=640&h=372&crop=1)
