Pupils in at least 15 states in the country will not return to their classrooms today as directed by the Federal Government.
This is because in most
of the states,
teachers are insisting that safety measures must be put in place to
protect them and their pupils from contracting the deadly Ebola Virus
Disease.
In some of the states like Lagos and
Ogun, the governments opted not to comply with the September 22 date
until necessary Ebola safety kits were put in place in their schools.
Also, the gates of the 104 Unity Schools in the country will be shut from today as their teachers commence an industrial action.
The other states where normal academic
activities will not resume are Rivers, Oyo, Ekiti, Osun, Benue, Niger,
Zamfara, Adamawa, Kano, Kwara, Kogi, Akwa Ibom and Ebonyi states.
Teachers in Lagos will be on duty today but pupils will remain at home until October 8.
There had been controversy over the
directive by the Federal Government that schools should resume on
September 22 since the spread of the Ebola Virus Disease had been
contained in the country.
The Nigeria Union of Teachers however
ordered its members to shun academic activities until the government
provided gadgets in schools to ensure not only their safety but that of
their pupils.
Lagos State Governor Babatunde Fashola,
after meeting on Sunday with public school headteachers, said the
decision was to ensure that schools in the state were safe for both
the teachers and their pupils.
He said, “On this issue of resumption, we are on the same side. We are all concerned about safety in the schools.
“Some states that would be commencing
their academic session tomorrow(today) did not have Ebola outbreak. The
index case (Mr. Patrick Sawyer) landed in Lagos and not in these states.
And I know that the teachers are afraid just like myself. My biggest
fear is that nothing must happen to any resident of Lagos. I am not shy
to say I am afraid.
“I understand the fear of the teachers.
We are on the same side. We are all concerned about safety in the
schools. Whether there is Ebola or not, we have to make the schools safe
for the teachers and the pupils.
“My proposal is that the teachers,
headmasters and principals should go to their various school tomorrow
(today) and sort out whatever is missing in the prescribed Ebola
preventive facilities. So, we have to use from tomorrow (today) and the
rest of the week to get the schools ready for the students.
“And because of the Eid-il-Kabir
festival that also falls within this time, rather than open and close
the schools again for the festival. Immediately after the festival, the
schools will commence academic session on October 8.”
He said that the state government had “awarded the contract to connect water to at least 800 schools in the state.”
The state NUT Chairman, Mr. Segun Raheem, confirmed the development to one of our correspondents.
Raheem, who argued that teachers in the
state had always been in schools even during holidays, however, urged
the government to ensure that it provided the necessary facilities
before the return of pupils on October 8.
The Secretary to the Ogun State
Government, Mr. Taiwo Adeoluwa, had last Friday announced October 8, as
the new resumption date for both public and private primary and
secondary schools in the state.
Adeoluwa said stakeholders in the state arrived at the new date after a series of meetings.
The state chapters of the NUT, the
Academic Staff of Secondary Schools, the Association of Primary School
Head Teachers of Nigeria, the National Association of Proprietors of
Private Schools and the All Nigeria Conference of Principals of
Secondary Schools, he added participated in the meetings.
In Akwa Ibom State, the NUT Secretary,
Mr. Mike Ike-Ene, said that schools would resume on Monday but that
teachers would not be there to teach the pupils.
According to him, the state government
had yet to provide the needed EVD safety kits ,like infrared
thermometers, sanitisers and hand gloves in schools for the use of
pupils and their teachers.
Ike-Ene said, “There will be no school on Monday. They will open their schools but teachers will not be there.
“We are asking them to provide
thermometers; water; hand sanitisers and hand gloves. The Akwa Ibom
State Government has not met any of these conditions rather they are
calling for the resumption of schools tomorrow(today).”
The Kwara State NUT Chairman, Mr. Musa Abubakar, also confirmed that teachers in the state would not resume today.
He told one of our correspondents on
Sunday that the state government had not made enough provisions to
prevent teachers and pupils from contracting the EVD on resumption of
schools.
The state Commissioner for Education, Alhaji Saka Onimago, had directed all schools in the state to resume today.
He had also ordered schools in the state to provide basic hygiene materials, including washing bowls, soap and towels.
The Osun State Government, in a
statement by Deputy Governor Titi Laoye-Tomori, said it deferred
resumption of schools to October 6 to enable teachers to undergo
training on how to prevent the spread of Ebola.
It explained that the new resumption date would allow schools to prepare very well to prevent the disease.
The statement read, “Governor Rauf
Aregbesola has directed all public and private schools to reopen for the
2014/2015 academic session on October 6.
“This will enable principals and
teachers to receive adequate training to prevent Ebola epidemic in
schools and in the state in general.
“Bearing in mind that children will be
coming from different homes, it becomes important that teachers are
given the basic knowledge on how to prevent the outbreak of the
disease.”
The Benue State NUT Chairman, Mr. Godwin
Anya, also confirmed that members of the union would not return for the
new academic session until the government provided the necessary EVD
safety kits in schools.
According to him, the government has not shown enough commitment to guaranteeing the safety of pupils and their teachers.
Anya said, “The unpreparedness of the
state government in providing training for us (teachers) coupled with
the lack of the necessary preventive and proactive gadgets to combat the
EVD in any eventuality has continued to stall reopening of schools on
Monday(today).
The NUT in Edo State said it had
issued a seven-day ultimatum to the state government to provide the
necessary EVD materials in schools or risk a sit-at-home action by its
members.
Its Chairman, Mr. Mike Uhunmwangho, who
made this known in a telephone interview with one of our
correspondents, said teachers and pupils in the state would not want
to risk their lives returning to schools without adequate safety nets.
He said, “The state government has
agreed to provide sanitisers and the equipment for checking body
temperature in schools within one week. Most of the teachers are going
to be involved class by class.
“We are giving them between
Monday(today) and Friday to put everything in place. If they are not
in place after seven days, we will make sure that nobody goes back to
school.”
Teachers in the nation’s Federal
Government colleges, under the aegis of Federal Government College
Teachers Association, have already commenced an industrial action over
the non-implementation of promotion arrears and other allowances.
The teachers have therefore advised
parents and guardians not to bring their children and wards to any of
the 104 schools on Monday (today) for the commencement of the new
academic session.
They alleged that the government had
failed to pay them their promotion arrears from 2007 to 2010 as well as
provide their training allowance amounting to N1.8bn.
A statement by the President, FGCTA, Mr.
Tahir Mahmood, and the General Secretary, Mr. Deedar Baloch, obtained
by one of our correspondents in Jos, Plateau State on Sunday,
specifically accused the Ministry of Education of misappropriating funds
for the payment of the promotion arrears from 2007 to 2011 released by
the Ministry of Finance.
The teachers also accused the Education
ministry of misappropriating N1.8bn, which was released for the payment
their outstanding liabilities.
Source:Punch News
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