The Federal Government said on Monday students returning to schools across the country are not required to undergo COVID-19 test before they would be allowed into the premises.
Some schools particularly in Lagos had directed their students to undergo the COVID-19 test before resumption.
But the Director of Press and Public Relations, Federal Ministry of Education, Ben Goong, who reacted to the development in a statement, asked school authorities to refrain from asking students or parents to undergo the COVID-19 test before they are allowed to enter the schools.
He said: “The Federal Ministry of Education says no COVID-19 test is required for returning students to be admitted into their schools.
“Only temperature checks should be carried out on students and any other person crossing any school gate.
“School authorities should therefore refrain from asking students or parents to undergo COVID-19 test before they are accepted in their schools.”
The Presidential Task Force on COVID – 19 , on Tuesday , said schools in the country will resume on January 18 until the Ministry of Education announces further directive.
PTF National Coordinator , Dr Sani Aliyu, stated this while featuring on a television programme monitored by the punch.
The PUNCH had earlier reported that the Minister of Education , Adamu Adamu , on Monday , said the Federal Government would review the January 18 earlier date fixed for resumption of schools across Nigeria.
The minister , who spoke at a PTF briefing in Abuja , attributed the decision to the second wave of COVID – 19 currently ravaging the country .
Speaking further on the issue on Tuesday , the PTF coordinator said the minister did not say the date has been changed .
Aliyu said , “ As regards schools , I just want to make a clarification , what the minister said yesterday was that they were going to review, he didn’t say that they were going to change the date. He said they will review the situation and let the nation know .
The National Association of Nigerian Students has urged the Federal Government and members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities to resume academic activities at the nation ’ s public universities .
The students ’ body also ordered its chapters in all tertiary institutions to set up COVID – 19 task force teams to enforce all guidelines outlined by the Presidential Task Force on COVID -19 and ensure safe reopening of schools .
NANS President , Sunday Asefon , stated this in a statement made available to The PUNCH on Tuesday.
The PUNCH had earlier reported that ASUU, on December 24 , 2020 , conditionally suspended its nine-month- long strike after a lot of foot -dragging by the union and the Federal Government.
The Presidential Task Force on COVID – 19 subsequently ordered schools to remain closed till January 18 , 2021 to contain the spike in COVID – 19 infections in the country . The National Universities Commission later asked universities to comply with the directive but the PTF on Monday said the January 18 date is subject to review .
University workers under the aegis of the Senior Staff Association of Nigeria Universities and Non -Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions on Tuesday protested what they described as the injustice of the Federal Government .
Among their grievances are the irregularities in the implementation of the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System and distribution of the earned allowances .
During the protest held at the entrance gate of the University of Abuja , the SSANU and NASU demanded that the government should pay them their minimum wage as promised and in conformity with what has been paid to other ministries since 2019 .
One of the leaders of the protesters ’ Branch Treasurer of NASU in UNIABUJA , Sadiat Hassan , said they would embark on strike if the government did not act accordingly .
She said, “ We are protesting against the irregularities in IPPIS payment and demanding the renegotiation of our 2009 agreement which has been long overdue .
Vice – Chancellors of some federal and state universities in Nigeria have expressed readiness to reopen schools .
Though the Academic Staff Union of Universities had said that varsities were not ready for reopening, the VCs said they had planned to reopen their institutions as directed by the Federal Government .
One of the VCs of a federal university in the South -West told our correspondent that it was wrong for ASUU to claim that there were no guidelines for reopening varsities .
Apart from the scare arising from the second wave of COVID – 19 , another VC said some of them ( VCs ) had planned to stagger resumption .
“ I think ASUU should begin to speak to facts . Inasmuch as we do not want the COVID – 19 outbreak on our campuses , we had our plans. Some academic activities can resume for classes with a few populations ,” one of the VCs told our correspondent on the telephone .
“ LASU recently held examinations for students in compliance with COVID -19 guidelines , and it went well . What do they mean by saying there is no guideline for reopening?” another VC queried.
If we say Better Days Ahead , Better Days is not unconnected with Better People. People who fit into this dispensation; dispensation of relevant technology and mind blowing innovations.
We still have people in this dispensation who think about short term benefits and not long term benefits, we need to think as smart as those leading us. Truth be told, our leaders are quite clever but the citizens ought to be smarter already.
During my basic education, we were taught elementary things we needed to know about Human Rights and Basic Amenities we are to enjoy as citizens. Basic amenities which are; electricity, pipe borne water, good infrastructures, free education and good standard of living. However today in Nigeria what do we have?
We have high level of unemployment, poor health facilities , dystopian educational standard , high cost of living, poor infrastructures and a lagging development of the economy as a whole.
Now education provided by the government isn’t free anymore. At the primary and secondary school levels, they still pay some thousands , yet most of these children still learn in the most inconducive environment you can imagine. The levy paid isn’t used to accomplish an improved environment to aid teaching and good assimilation. This is as a result of the corruption that is deeply rooted in this system.
Youths graduate from the tertiary institutions every year and in the course of searching for jobs, they are expected to have certain years of experience in order to be absorbed. Where exactly do they get these experience from if they have never been offered employment after successfully completing the compulsory service year?
We face many challenges as a nation, most roads are bad, it is so difficult for most people to have good meals, people who have little money or none can’t enjoy good health facility, the economy is bad.
Talking about politicIal sycophants and supporters , for how long will they keep giving support to leaders who treat civil servants like beggars, leaders who have no prepared plan for the youths and have used their policies to wreck the Nigerian currency.
ASUU (Academic Staff Union Of Universities) is currently on strike and despite elections being near, the government does not seem bothered. This level of confidence on the government part is alarming. Despite all these ,our politicians have been engaged in campaigns and making futile promises to the citizens as they have always been doing in the past.
Despite all these, sycophants and poverty stricken citizens still turn out to support these politicians because of the short term benefit. They get paid for a day, spend the money the same day or following day and then, suffer for the following years. I understand they have a lot to deal with, poverty and depression is real. Campaigns aren’t done everyday but during periods of elections.
So the question is, how have these people been surviving? We have to make a choice, do we keep making ourselves tools in the hands of these politicians , risking our lives while campaigning for them or refuse to be used by them and settle for long term benefits?
Why can’t they offer our children scholarships , provide shelter with little interest, provide incentives and secure a better future for us? They only make these promises during campaigns but never fufill them. Shouldn’t they do these things while in power? No, they won’t . They refuse to do these things and while poverty keeps plunging into our society, they come back as saviour, pretending to be doing us a favour and taking advantage of the poor by giving them stipends.
The poor need to be wise already because when a bad government is elected, they are the first set of people to feel the heat of the difficulty in the nation. How do they survive when the economy is bad and the cost of living is high? Yet, they haven’t understood.
The Federal Government says the issue of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) would soon be resolved.
The Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige, disclosed this on Tuesday during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today.
Ngige said the Ministries of Finance, Education, Labour and Employment and the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation will meet with the body.
“The issue of ASUU will soon come to an end,” he said. “Two reasons – ASUU have called the Federal Government represented by Finance and the Accountant-General Office and their direct employers, the Ministry of Education to come for the test.”
Ngige’s remarks come three days after ASUU said it had not called off its nationwide industrial action which started in March.
According to ASUU Vice President, Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, the strike is still in force until the Federal Government meets their demands.
Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige
Also, President of the union, Prof. Biodun Ogunyemi, had vowed that the union would sustain its ongoing strike action until its requirements were met.
Ogunyemi said ASUU was asking the Federal Government to implement the 2012 universities’ needs assessment.
The ASUU leader had during a press conference on March 23, announced the nationwide strike, adding that the union rejected the use of force to enrol on Integrated Payroll and Personal Information System (IPPIS).
The National Universities Commission ordered universities across the country to close for a month, beginning from March 23, due to the outbreak of coronavirus.
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