The resumption of schools across the country slated for Monday, January 18, is causing a frenzy as the House of Representatives has faulted the decision, citing the increase in COVID-19 cases.
Chairman of the House committee on basic education, Julius Ihonvbere, said officials of the government did not reach out to the relevant committees of the National Assembly before deciding on January 18 as resumption date.
As noted by The Cable, Ihonvbere said the resumption of schools should be postponed by three months following the rapid increase in COVID-19 cases.
He further states that there are no “verifiable and sustainable arrangements to protect and secure” the students during the pandemic.
“We are particularly concerned that when the infection rates hovered around 500 and under, schools were closed; but now that it hovers well above 1,000 infections daily, schools are being reopened. “Why are we rushing to reopen schools without adequate verifiable and sustainable arrangements to protect and secure our children?
“They did not consult us; at least in my committee, nobody from the ministry spoke to me. I have been in Abuja. And I am not sure that they spoke to any of my members. They just don’t see us as part of the critical stakeholders.”
According to the recent data by Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), as of Saturday, January 16, Nigeria currently has 108,943 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and a total of 1598 new cases.
1598 new cases of #COVID19Nigeria;
Lagos-461
FCT-206
Plateau-197
Rivers-168
Kaduna-116
Anambra-53
Ogun-49
Ebonyi-47
Edo-42
Sokoto-32
Imo-31
Katsina-31
Oyo-30
Akwa Ibom-27
Delta-16
Kano-16
Abia-15
Niger-15
Ondo-11
Bayelsa-10
Borno-9
Kebbi-8
Ekiti-7
Jigawa-1 pic.twitter.com/KyRi1mZySD— NCDC (@NCDCgov) January 16, 2021
