In spite of the reservations in certain quarters, not least the National Union of Teachers (NUT) and some state governments; the schools should commence their calendar tomorrow.
The reservations are noted and must be taken into account. Nevertheless, we cannot postpone schools’ resumption indefinitely. It has to be stated that the federal and state governments working in tandem have shown commendable resolve as well as admirable coordination in their response to the containment of the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) scourge.
For once, they have done the nation proud. They have also demonstrated what can be done in a democracy within the framework of a national agreement on a host of important issues. We believe that this attitude should be expanded across the board.
The state of preparedness is important. The federal minister of health has already stated that as at last week Nigeria does not have a single Ebola case. However, all of this can change in the twinkle of an eye, so there is no basis for complacency.
What ought to have been done earlier is for the federal government, acting in conjunction with the states and the local governments, to initiate a consultative forum of all the stakeholders in the sector. Stakeholders are here defined as parents, teachers, medical personnel and those manning public health facilities.
This must still be done. In addition, there must be rigorous monitoring and the imposition of exacting standards on ‘vulnerable’ schools in both the public and private sectors. Strict monitoring will ensure that hand sanitizers are in place as well as the provision of thermostats and training in the use of disinfectants. Rivers State for example has trained 5,000 teachers. We cannot and must not jeopardise the impressive gains made so far.
Finally, in a federation, there cannot be a uniform opening date for schools. Education is after all on the concurrent list. This is why we cannot castigate states such as Niger and Osun which have decided to shift their resumption date. Nevertheless, with activities going on across all sectors, there is absolutely no reason why the schools should not resume tomorrow. They ought to!
