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.
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.
