RE-OPENING PRIMARY AND SECONDARY SCHOOLS The pressure by private school owners, no doubt for profit, and some teachers for the government to re-open primary and secondary schools closed as one of the measures for checking spread of Ebola virus, is one that the government must review critically and whatever decision is to be taken should be in the best interest of Nigerian children. I am stoutly opposed to re-opening of the schools now. My opposition is anchored on many reasons. The children are safer at home. Parents and guardians have control of their movements and are accountable for their safety. It is not a shared responsibility with teachers now. Any risk is within the family. Our schools are so crowded and operate mainly in not too hygiene environments, except few elite schools where the children of the poor and the middle class do not attend. Also, our teachers do not really have time for the pupils. Get to our schools, you will find many of them, especially in public schools, roaming about. The pupils freely play, interact and share things in common like water bottles, sweets, etc. It is important to ask: How many schools in this country have good conveniences for the personal hygiene of these pupils? How many schools have good and regular water supply for washing of hands? How many schools, even, have functional basic first aid boxes? These are many constraints. The government should not gamble with the Nigerian children, please. Re-opening schools next month, October 2014 or later is not too highly a price to be paid. The private school owners and the teachers calling for re-opening of schools now, should tell the Nigerian the measures that they have initiated and put in place to protect our children. How many of them, for instance, on daily basis, supervise the hygiene levels of the pupils as in the years past? The government should not re-open the schools without obtaining from the private school ownerss and the teachers guarantee that they will create environments that are securing. I do not want any Nigerian child to be negligently or carelessly exposed to Ebola virus. To avert danger, let the children tarry at home till October 2014 or so. On the part of government -State and Federal - if not corruption and mismanagement of our common wealth, the country is rich enough to provide the basic screening facilities, like the ones some hotels are using now, for all the schools in the country. What will be the total cost for our petrol dollar country? Also, the pupils should be provided with regular supply of sanitizer, at least, until the Ebola virus situation is announced to be fully controlled. I have read the World Health Organization (WHO) fear about the Port Harcourt situation. Presently, there are not adequate public awareness of the disease in many States in the country. It is more of grandstanding. To re-open the schools this month, it should not be the talk of only private school owners and the few teachers, the voices of parents and guardians, like me, should be captured. The pulse of the public should be measured. Otherwise, if there is a problem tomorrow, which I do not pray for, the government will be seriously demonized. I hope that the Minister for Education and the Commissioners for Education in the States will act wisely, and not allow themselves to be blackmailed or pressured into taking unpopular decision. I pray that it wont be: schools are re-opened today, and they are forced to close tomorrow. Lets watch carefully before re-opening the schools. Will schools in Port Harcourt re-open too, if schools are to re-open by mid September? I reiterate that it is safer to let these pupils stay a little more time at home and let the nation obtain an empirical and verified report from the relevant agencies and ministries tackling the Ebola virus situation in the country that the country is not really threatened again. For now, there is genuine doubt that the country can afford to let our children out as before.
Posted on: Fri, 05 Sep 2014 08:12:08 +0000