The President of the National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools (NAPPS), Yomi Otubela has said called on the Federal Government not to keep schools closed beyond January 17.
Otubela said the government should ensure schools enforce COVID-19 protocols when they resume.
“Recent pronouncement of United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) notes that schools are not drivers of Covid-19 pandemic while noting that closure of schools due to the COVID-19 pandemic will impact negatively on the development, safety and mental wellbeing of children globally.”
To check the spread of the virus when schools resume, Otubela said staggered classes, reduced hours, remote learning, and other non-pharmaceutical measures should continue.
He also charged parents to support compliance in schools by monitoring what they do.
“We also call on parents to own the fight against the spread of Covid-19 through Parents Teachers Association (PTA). PTA should form Covid-19 Compliance officers among parents that will rotate visitation to schools on regular basis for compliance,” he said.
Recall that there was mounting pressure by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and other stakeholders that schools should remain shut amid the second wave of the pandemic.
However, the Federal Government, through the Ministry of Education, has now confirmed that schools across the country can now resume on January 18, 2021.
