Taraba yet to emplace measures for schools’ resumption

Benue records low turn-out

Taraba, unlike other states of the federation, seems not to have plans yet to re-open its schools, especially for the exiting pupils, The Guardian has observed.

Though the state’s Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education claimed to have received directive from Governor Darius Ishaku to re-open schools based on the Federal Ministry of Education’s announcement, there was no sign of readiness as at press time.

Commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education, Josaness Jegem, recently held a stakeholders’ meeting on re-opening of both public and private secondary schools across the state as directed by the governor. But since then, no step seems to have been taken by the authorities to match words with action.

Some head teachers told The Guardian that they were still waiting for the government to provide them with the materials needed to protect their students and teachers from the disease.Pleading anonymity, the head teachers claimed that even the monthly imprest for the upkeep of the school had not been made available for sometime.

IN Benue State, it was low turn-out as exiting pupils resumed yesterday in preparation for their final examinations. The Guardian visited some schools in Makurdi, the state capital, and observed poor compliance with Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) protocols against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

At Mt. St. Gabriel Secondary School, Makurdi, Rev. Fr. John Asen, said that less than 100 of the 300 students resumed. Chairman of the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), Joseph Utse, told newsmen that the state had put machinery in place to ensure a smooth resumption of students to schools.