Ogun private schools reject October 13 resumption date

The National Association of Private Schools Proprietors, Ogun State Chapter, on Tuesday faulted the Federal Government’s decision to postpone all primary and secondary schools’ resumption to October 13 in order to prevent the spread of the Ebola Virus Disease among children.

At a press conference held after a meeting at its secretariat in Abeokuta, the association said the government’s decision was a threat to the academic future of the children.

The chairman of the association, Abayomi Jiboku, argued that if the closure was genuine, there was no reason why tertiary institutions, churches and mosques, among others were not closed.

He said a larger number of people converged at these places than at primary and secondary schools.

Mr. Jiboku said the private schools were ready to comply with the Federal Government’s directive that all schools should provide Ebola preventive materials before resumption; hence there was no need to prevent schools from resuming on their earlier dates.

“Those that are falling victims of Ebola virus attack have not been children, they are adults. In Lagos State, we have not recorded any attack of children. In Rivers State, we have not recorded such. Even the man that brought it into the country was a medical doctor, an adult. To us, that argument lacks merit. To us, that argument is irrational,” Mr. Jiboku said.

“Among the directives given at the national level by the federal ministry of education, is that every primary and secondary schools should send two teachers through the local zonal education officers to the ministry for training and that these two would be the ones that will be seeing to the preventions of Ebola among the students.

“Government is also expecting that certain facilities would have to be put in place. Among which are the two machines which they said those two trained personnel will have to use in testing for Ebola virus among the students and we are told now that those machines will have to be purchased by each schools in Ogun State at a cost of N6, 000 which means each school must subscribe N12, 000 to purchase the two machines. We identify with these directives all in a beat to ensure there is no spread of this virus among our students.”