OGUN MAKES COVID-19 TEST FREE FOR ALL RETURNING SS3 BOARDING STUDENTS

The State has been very apprehensive about the issue of school opening even for exit students. Data from other countries, where schools have resumed show that community transmission in school environments is a major concern. Even countries with strongerhealth care facilities than ours are being very cautious.

In line with the Federal Ministry of Education recommendation and WASSCE timetable, we decided to open our schools on the 4thAugust 2020 for SS3 students only. We put in place guidelines that would ensure that our students resume in a safe environment.

In our pre-opening engagements with stakeholders, opening of boarding houses was discussed. Our State has one of the largest population of boarding students in the country, coming from all over the Country. After consultations with health professionals, we concluded that testing the children for COVID-19 before admittance will reduce the risk of community transmission. This is to reassure parents and even teachers of the safety of everybody concerned.

The State planned and provided testing, free of charge, for boarding students in our public schools and allowed for the management and parents of private schools to make their arrangements to get COVID tests. The two Ogun State run laboratories have a capacity for about 500 tests a day and conduct free tests for traced contacts or symptomatic patients. To meet the additional demand for the expected number of boarding students, the statement from the Ogun State Ministry of Education, Science and Technology listed some private test centers which set up sampling points in some of our Health facilities.

These private laboratories have been accredited by NCDC and Lagos State Government for walk-in tests and charge N50,400 per test but I understand that the Ministries of Health and Education negotiated this to N25,000 for boarding students in private schools that may wish to use them. There is no financial benefit to the State Government.

After reviewing these developments, I have today immediately directed that the Government Laboratories carry out test for all returning SS3 boarding students at no cost. I have also directed that all those who have paid for tests be refunded.

The health of our children remains our utmost priority, however in view of the total number of boarding students to be tested (5,340private and 500 public), and bearing in mind the limitation of our installed testing capacity of 500 tests per day, it may not be feasible for all boarding students to get tested and get their results prior to resumption or even exams which commence on 17th August 2020.

Consequently the State Government has therefore stepped down the COVID-19 test as a mandatory requirement for returning students in our exit classes. We therefore enjoin Private School owners toexercise their duty of care to their pupils. The admittance of students into boarding house in private secondary schools will be at the discretion of the management and the Parents Teachers Association (PTA) of such private schools.

Ogun State Government recommends that students who do not have to stay in the boarding house should attend school from home, especially those with underlying health conditions.

I have also directed the provision of face masks to all students inboth private and public schools.

The inconvenience and confusion experienced yesterday is highly regrettable and my sincere apologies to the parents and students so affected.

The quality and standard of education and well being of our children are issues that are very dear to my heart.

I appreciate the cooperation, support, resilience and understanding of all the people of Ogun State towards flattening the curve of COVID-19 in Ogun State. It is my prayer that this phase will end soonest.

POLYTECHNIC STUDENTS EMBARKED ON PEACEFUL PROTEST, CALL ON FG TO REOPEN SCHOOLS WITH IMMEDIATE EFFECT

In a statement released today by the President of National Association of Polytechnic Students NAPS while protesting. The NAPS President said, “We can not continue to keep mute in the face of bad policy, most especially that has to do with the education Sector.

COVID 19 has come to stay with us, whether we agree or not,there is cure or there is going to be cure to it like Malaria, all we need from the Federal Government is to stop partaking in the global politics and come out with a specific date for Schools’ Reopening, FG has given a guidelines on schools’ reopening and everybody is ready to adhere strictly with the guidelines, we have seen some Polytechnics that have displayed their readiness.

Federal Ministry of Education should wake up to the task on provision of preventive measure materials across the tertiary institutions in Nigeria.

If ASUP is not ready to go back to Class, their Salary should be stopped henceforth, no work no pay, but if the Federal Government refuses to give a specific date between now and next 14 days, the entire Polytechnic Students across the country will not hesitate to mobilize in millions across the streets in Nigeria, we are ready to stop the economic activities of the Country”.

NAPS Leadership staged a peaceful demonstration today 1st August in Ibadan as a pilot scheme for the mass action perpetual closure of tertiary institutions in Nigeria.

Federal Government should stop the Global Politics and stop wasting out destinies, said the President.

It is no longer new that the South West Governors and the Federal Government recently had a virtual meeting where they concluded that students who are in exit classes should be allowed to resume on August 4 in order to allow them write their final examinations particularly WAEC which is slated to commence on August 17.

Meanwhile, the Nigerian Medical Association has berated the level of preparedness of the Federal Government for ordering the schools to reopen for studies amid the surge in COVID-19 cases.

The NMA says the recent study has shown that schools’ closure had been linked to reduced COVID-19 infections and associated deaths in hard hit countries.

The NMA expressed worries over the recent decision of Federal Government to reopen the schools for the exit classes on August 4.

The NMA President, Prof. Innocent Ujah, said, “What is the level of compliance of the citizens in terms of regular hand-washing and other safety protocols?

“At the moment, many of the schools don’t even have water. Obviously, it becomes very difficult to say that schools should reopen because you have to wash your hands regularly.

“Again, I don’t know how the teachers would be teaching with face masks and all the pupils will wear face masks.

“If you are not used to face masks, you may not breathe well, particularly if the one you have is not standard,” Ujah said.

Oyo TESCOM Gives Update About On Going Recruitment, Talks About CBT, Cut Off Marks and Non-Indigenes.

Chairman of the Oyo State Teaching Service Commission (TESCOM), Pastor Akin Alamu, today (Thursday) while speaking on a live radio programme monitored in Ibadan gave updates about the on-going recruitment exercise.

According to him, while featuring on Fresh FM Radio station programme titled “Situation Room”, about 90,000 out of the applicants that initially submitted their application has been captured and will be call for the Computer Based Test (CBT) which will take place next month.

Out of these applicants, only 7,000 will be employed for teaching jobs while about 2,000 will be employed as non teaching staff.

The TESCOM chairman also revealed that Oyo State indigenes will be given more consideration but added that indigenes of other states will be also considered due to the cosmopolitan status of oyo state.

When asked about the cut off marks for the applicants, the TESCOM chairman explained that it is the score of the applicants that will determine the cut off mark. He stated that successful applicants will be called immediately for interview so that they can resume by September when the new school academic calendar will begin in the pacesetter state.

It is no longer new that the closure of schools has brought severe hardship to the owners and teachers of private schools having stayed at home for almost four months without financial aids from the government to ameliorate their sufferings.

Today, OduduwaNews crew interviewied some teachers and owners of private schools and stated below the accounts of their ordeal since the beginning of the pandemic.

Adekola Abosede who is a teacher in a private school said “Private school teachers are only depending on the mercy of God, the school fees the Proprietors collected in March have not been paid out as March salary, it is getting worse, parents of children doing home lessons too are also broke, some have taken their children to learn skills. May God help us in this country.

Mark Chidibere a Lagos based teacher in his account, said “four months ago till date no source of survival. We are grossly downtrodden! The proprietors have been in a state of incommunicado since and kept us in a state of penury now. Your help will go a long way.
May fragrance never leave the hands that give rose.

Azeez Ajisafe, a Proprietor while lamenting the economic hardship the COVID-19 has brought to them, said “we, the proprietors are having a rethink on diversifying. We are all in it. We are all frustrated. However, if everybody is discouraged from investing in school business or decided to leave private teaching, who will teach your children? It’s obvious all our children can’t attend Nigerian public schools. Bulk of our frustration should be directed to the government for not doing the needful to ameliorate the suffering of those who have temporarily or fully lost their jobs due to this pandemic.

Olabisi Crown while lamenting said
“Let me tell you my pain, I am a school teacher in a private school, no salaries from March till now, the okada machine I used to go to work in school has been diverted to commercial okada riding, though, I used to do it early in the morning just for few ours in Lagos. My bike was taken from me by the police saying they have banned okada, I narrated my predicament to them but they did not listen,I showed them my ID card, they refused to understand my plight, they demanded for 30k for my bike to be released. Imagine, on that day I was only having N435 with me and I needed to buy foods and drugs. Government should come to our aides as life is unbearable as I speak to you.

A school owner in Ibadan, Olamide Adebayo while talking to OduduwaNews crew lamented the current state of the economy. He said even before the pandemic some of them who are private school owners were surviving on loans with the belief that they would repay them back when they start receiving school fees but their expectation was dashed by the sudden outbreak of the pandemic. He calls on government to assist them as some of them may not be able to go back to classes again and this will affect the already crumbling education sector.