House To Review Re-opening Of Schools

BEVERLY HILLS, September 09, (THEWILL) – The House of Representatives has asked its Committee on Education to take another look at the issue of resumption date for private and public primary/secondary schools in the country.

This directive is necessitated by growing concern amongst the public, especially parents and guardians of the students, following the recent decision by federal education authorities to re-open schools for the 2014/2015 academic session on Monday, September 22, 2014.

In the wake of the outbreak of the dreaded Ebola virus disease in the country, Education Minister, Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau, had announced a postponement in the resumption date of schools from September to October 13, 2014, so as to give the country's health authorities enough time to ensure containment.

In a swift reaction, however, private school owners had vehemently opposed the one-month shift in resumption, compelling the Federal Ministry of Education to settle for a new date of September 22, 2014, after a meeting with stakeholders in the sector.

But responding to inquiries from journalists Tuesday in Abuja, the Deputy Chairman, Media & Public Affairs in the House of Representatives , Hon. Victor Afam Ogene, stated that the House Leadership resolved to mandate its Committee on Education to take another look at the issue, ” in the overall interest of the pupils and students, parents and guardian and the general well-being of the entire country.”

Ogene said : ” You will recall that upon the outbreak of the dreaded Ebola virus disease in Nigeria, the House Committee on Health rose up to the occasion by interfacing with the health authorities, the result of which is the positive containment efforts and call-off of the strike by doctors in the country.”

Continuing, the deputy spokesman of the House said that given the reality of some persons still under surveillance, and the likelihood of having other cases, there was the need to put the safety of children and that of the entire country into consideration, in arriving at when best to order a re-opening of both private and public schools.

Only on Monday, September 8, 2014, a group, Africa Health, Human & Social Development Information Service (Afri-Dev. Info) warned that the reopening of schools, involving no fewer than 80 million children, adolescents, students and teachers was a high-risk venture, which poses grave risk to all concerned.

SAINT MUGAGA, ABUJA