The Federal Government has said it has not come to a point where it is convinced that schools should be reopened for academic exercise.
This was disclosed by the Minister of State for Education, Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba, on Thursday in Abuja at a meeting of the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 with the Northern Traditional Leaders Committee (NTLC) on National Primary Health.
According to NAN, the meeting was presided over by the Minister of Information and Culture on behalf of the Chairman of PTF and Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha.
In response to a question from Sultan of Sokoto, His Eminence Sa’ad Abubakar, on school reopening, Nwajiuba said the federal government is still evaluating the situation.
“At the moment, we have not come to the point where we can say we are convinced that schools can manage themselves and reopen comfortably.
“Our teams have gone out, and we will use the whole of this week and next week to do a proper evaluation.
“We are going round to see the level of compliance, but most importantly, we are waiting to get an update on all the facilities in every part of Nigeria.
“So, it is a work in progress,” he said.
“We believe expert opinion that a school system is a suspect place for transmission, and that is why we are working with them, particularly on guidelines.
“We are suggesting that classes be remodelled if there are not enough classrooms for social distancing,
“We can do this system where some can come in the morning, maybe the junior classes and the senior classes can come in the afternoon.
“We are also working out guidelines such as the washing of hands because the school must go on at one point,” he said.
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