Why schools must remain shut for now - FG gives fresh details

- The federal government has revealed why schools must remain shut

- Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba, the minister of state for education, said there is no specific date for the school resumption as being speculated

- The minister, however, said that only the PTF on COVID-19 could approve the reopening of schools

The federal government has again said that parents and school children would have to wait a little more, insisting that the schools remain shut for now.

Nigerian Tribune reports that the minister of state for education, Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba, made this known on Monday, June 8, at the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 news briefing.

He described as fake news timetables purported released from the ministry of education on the conduct of West African Examination Council Examinations (WAEC) being circulated on the social media.

Nwajiuba maintained that only the PTF on COVID-19 could approve the reopening of schools following expert advice on the safety of schools for the children, adding that the government was not prepared to experiment with the lives of Nigerian children.

He said the federal ministry of education does not have the prerogative to unilaterally direct reopening of school with the spike in confirmed cases of coronavirus across the country.

The minister further disclosed until the ban on interstate movement is lifted, it would be incongruous to reopen schools when teachers and students could not move freely to their schools.

Nwajiuba said: “The long answer is that the ministry would not want to lead Nigerians into danger, so we are working with experts and that is the essence of us being in this committee in the first place.

“We want to be only able to reopen when it is safe to do so. You heard about neighbouring countries that opened and shut; you heard about cases spiking with children getting into school.

“Of all the things, I would like to do, I would not like to experiment with your children. The truth is that we want a situation where once we are sure it is safe, we can then take them into schools."

The minister disclosed that he had a meeting on Monday, June 8, with representatives of WAEC, National Examination Council (NECO) and National Business and Technical Examination Board (NABTEB) to brainstorm on how to conduct their pending examinations.