Delta tertiary institutions to reopen October 2 – Commissioner

The Delta State Government says tertiary institutions in the state are free to reopen between now and October 2, depending on the school’s arrangements to ensure safety of their students.

The Commissioner for Higher Education, Patrick Muoboghare, made the clarification on Thursday in Asaba while briefing journalists on the government’s preparedness for tertiary institutions in the state to reopen for academic activities.

According to him, the directive is that tertiary institutions should reopen between now and October 2, meaning that by October 2, all the tertiary institutions should have resumed fully.

“We decided that they can resume in phases, depending on the school’s arrangements; we gave them between now and October 2.

“They are not going to resume all programmes and levels at the same time, except those that have the facilities that can accommodate social distancing,” Muoboghare said.

The commissioner explained that the students’ resumption would be in phases and by Oct. 2, resumption would have been completed in conformity with the COVID-19 safety protocols.

Mr Muoboghare also explained that the media had earlier reported that the institutions would reopen on October 2, whereas what the government was saying was that they could resume in phases before October 2.

According to him, the ministry is making plans to ensure that the education sector in the state does not suffer more than it had, as there are losses already.

“Secondary schools started with the external examination, and so when WAEC decided to fix a date for the final year students to write their examinations, Delta has to key into it.

“If the principals can manage those younger ones, because of what the government has put in place, we hope that we can manage the older ones.

“From June/July, we have been having interactions with the heads of higher institutions on preparation for resumption and meeting the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) guidelines so that if there is any suspected case, the school can isolate and immediately contact NCDC.”

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the institutions in the state were shut down in the wake of the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic in the country to contain its spread. (NAN)