The Federal Government says state governments and school administrators should start making preparations for the full reopening of schools in the country.
Speaking on Thursday, the National Coordinator of the Presidential Taskforce on COVID-19, Dr Sani Aliyu, during a briefing at the Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport, Abuja, said the task force recommends phased return of students.
Aliyu said, “For educational institutions which include daycare, primary, secondary and tertiary institutions. Educational institutions should begin the process of working towards potentially reopening within this phase.
“However, we strongly recommend that states conduct risk assessment to ensure all schools are at a level of compliance and create a monitoring mechanism to assess, create, and monitor this level of preparedness.
“Meanwhile, all daycares and educational institutions are to remain closed to in-classes until this level of risk is assessed. And if there will be opening of schools, it must be staged and preferably carried out in phases to ensure that this does not pose a risk to the general public and in particular to vulnerable groups that might end up getting infected by students going back home.”
In the same vein, the Federal Government has approved the reopening of orientation camps for the NYSC.
"The National Youth Service Corps should start making preparations to reopen its orientation camps nationwide".
Orientation camps across the country had been shut in March as part of measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus disease.
But speaking on Thursday, the National Coordinator of the Presidential Taskforce on COVID-19, Dr Sani Aliyu, during a briefing at the Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport, Abuja, said the task force was in the process of developing “strict guidelines” to forestall the outbreak of infections when NYSC camps reopen.
Aliyu said, “For the National Youth Service Corps, the NYSC is to consolidate on safety measures currently being put in place and start preparing for the reopening of orientation camps when educational institutions open.
“We are in the process of developing strict guidelines to ensure there is no outbreak of Covid-19 when this process starts.”
NYSC Director-General, Brig. General Shuaibu Ibrahim, said the scheme had embarked on measures to enable safe and efficient conduct of its operations as soon as FG approved the reopening of its camps.
“Conscious of the possibility of the further or complete lifting of lockdown, the strategies mapped out by the NYSC management had taken care of various scenarios and would be presented to the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 through the Nigeria Centre for Disease Centre for guidance,” Ibrahim had said
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