State governments on Sunday differed on the Federal Government’s directive that schools in the country should remain shut till January 18 as part of efforts to curb COVID-19 second wave.
While states such as Kogi, Anambra, Plateau and Ekiti said their schools would resume on January 18, Rivers, Cross River, Gombe, Sokoto, Zamfara, Delta and Oyo states shunned the Federal Government’s directive.
Following the outbreak of COVID-19 second wave, the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, at its press conference on December 21, said all schools in the country would remain shut till January 18.
The PTF Chairman and Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr Boss Mustapha, who addressed the press conference, said, “The PTF on the advice of the Federal Ministry of Education, expects that schools would have vacated from the 18th December 2020 and remain closed till at least the 18th of January, 2021 to enable the measures introduced to take effect.”
The measures, according to the PTF, include social distancing and installation of hand-washing materials.
Our schools resume Jan 11, we don’t have imminent COVID-19 threat – C’River
The Cross River State Commissioner for Quality Education, Dr Godwin Amanke, in an interview with The PUNCH on Sunday, said the state would not change its decision on the January 11 resumption of schools.
Amanke said “That is our original date on the timetable we rolled out last year.”
On the January 18 date fixed by the Federal Government for schools’ resumption, the commissioner stated, “Individual states are subject to their peculiar circumstances. We don’t have any imminent threat in the state to warrant such a shift.
“We will encourage schools to observe the necessary protocols. The parents have a role to play. The teachers have a role to play and children have a role to play.”
Some private schools in the state had fixed their resumption date for Monday (today).
The Chief Press Secretary to the Oyo State Governor, Mr Taiwo Adisa, said the January 11 resumption date of schools in the state had not changed.
Asked by one of our correspondents if the state would change the resumption date to comply with the directive of the PTF , Adisa stated, “ Oyo schools resume on January 11.”
Also, the state Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Mr Olasunkanmi Olaleye, in an interview, said, “For now, the schools’ resumption date remains January 11.”