As part of measures to stifle the spread of the virus in the country, the federal government had ordered the closure of school about five months ago following the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic in the country.
But to ensure that students in existing classes prepare for their terminal exams, the federal government permitted schools to reopen partially on August 4.
This is, however, not without some stiff oppositions from the Nigerian Union Teachers (NUT) which cautioned the FG against exposing both teachers and the pupils to the virus.
The NUT general secretary, Mike Ene, stressed that schools could not be reopened without the government providing them with the necessary protective materials and what he termed “incentives.”
“I don’t know who is going to use his own child as a guinea pig. It is only those who are alive that can speak of keeping hope alive. How can we resume? Does anyone want to die?” he cowed in a stream of emotion in an interview with The Punch Newspaper
He furthered that the government had not assured them of their safety, stating that no isolation centres have been established in schools across the country.
The ICIR had earlier reported how staggered preparation and fear among teachers marred school reopening in Kwara State
Despite ensuring compliance with safety measures such as social distancing and the use of face mask, the fear of the teachers were finally left unclad, and thus, sent a shrill shiver down the spine of concerned authorities.
Nine days after the commencement of the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE), thirteen pupils have reportedly tested positive to the coronavirus pandemic as of the time of filing this report.
The students, some of whom are currently writing their exams in different isolations centres across the country, are asymptomatic and currently receiving treatment. Eleven of them are from Gombe while one student is from Kwara and Awka Ibom respectively.
In Gombe, nine of the students are from Government Girls’ College, Doma while one is a student of government science secondary school who had tested negative and reunited with his family. Another student from Government Girls Secondary School, Kumo, also tested positive.
The name and identity of the students are withheld for fear of stigmatization.
As of the time of filing this report, the state has recorded a total of 714 cases. Of the total cases, 605 patients have recovered while 23 patients gave up the ghost.
In Kwara, a sixteen years old female student is currently sitting for her exams at the state COVID-19/infectious disease centre. She tested positive after close contact with one of her relatives who had earlier tested positive for the virus.
The female students who had earlier missed a paper while under observation sat for her Agricultural science paper at the centre last week Wednesday.
“The person in question is one of the final year senior secondary school students that have enrolled for the ongoing West African Senior School Certificate Examination and she is right here writing her exam. She is asymptomatic, which means she does not show any symptoms, and she is stable. She is just here to observe her two weeks isolation process” the team lead, Kwara COVID-19/infectious diseases centre, Dr Kudirat Oladeji-Lambe, disclosed.
Kwara state has recorded a total of 936 cases of the virus, with 740 recoveries and 25 deaths
Meanwhile, the Akwa Ibom state government has begun random testing of students after a male student currently writing the ongoing terminal exams tested positive for the virus in the state.
The state governor, Udom Emmanuel, while announcing the COVID-19 status of the student who he said is asymptomatic and taking necessary precaution not to spread the virus disclosed that the state has conducted over 100 COVID-19 tests among the final year students.
Among the three states, Akwa Ibom recorded the least number of COVID-19 cases. The state has recorded a total of 271 cases. Of the confirmed cases, 220 patients have recovered and 8 patients have died in the state.