Schools resume academic activities in Edo

Private schools in Edo have resumed academic activities after six months of lockdown, following the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic.

A correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) monitored the resumption in Benin City metropolis on Tuesday.

The correspondent observed that most private schools’ pupils and teachers complied with the Federal Government’s directives of wearing face masks and sanitising their hands in order to curtail the spread of the Coronavirus disease.

NAN observed that the schools made available buckets of water, hand sanitiser and liquid soaps for parents and students to wash their hands before entering their school premises.

The schools’ head teachers who spoke to NAN said that their students and pupils resumed in large numbers with strict adherence to COVID-19 protocols.

The Proprietor of Standard Academy School, Mrs Ugochi Okocha, said that the school was complying with the Federal Government’s directives on COVID-19 protocols.

She said that the school management had fumigated the classrooms and the entire premises as well as provided wash-hand basins, running water, liquid soap and hand sanitiser dispensers at the entrance points and in the classrooms.

“We have spaced the seats in all our classrooms with less students in each class.

“We have also provided infrared thermometers to check the temperatures of every pupil and student at the school entrance.

“All staff, parents and visitors must wear their face masks or face shields within the school premises,” she said.

Also, Philomena Imama, a teacher at Excel Montessori School, said that majority of the children in the foundation and pre-nursery classes were yet to resume.

She said that majority of the students who resumed in her school were primary and secondary class students.

She said that about 50 per cent of the pupils that resumed school wore their face masks and came with their hand sanitiser.

Imama said that majority of the schools in the state were working according to the directives of the Edo Government in respect to the reopening of schools.

According to her, the schools have provided all necessary materials for everyone to remain safe while within the school environment.

She, however, welcomed the children back to school and advised them to concentrate on their studies.