The Federal government has reacted to criticisms from Nigerians following the reopening of schools amid high cases of coronavirus.
Muhammadu Buhari
The government of President Muhammadu Buhari has stated it didn't give its support for schools to reopen on Monday, 18th January 2021 amid high cases of coronavirus.
The Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu said this during the briefing of the Presidential Task Force, PTF, on COVID-19, on Monday.
Adamu, said the government did not agree with the states on the resumption date, adding that the task force would monitor the situation on a daily basis.
According to him, the school resumption date could be reviewed again.
“We sat down, looked at the figures and we took the decision that schools should not open.
“Unfortunately, we have to state this because it is supposed to be a collective decision, but you must understand that the schools we’re talking about, the Federal Government has only about 100 out of thousands of schools.
“The schools are under the jurisdiction of states and just as the PTF was unanimous in saying that schools should not open, states were unanimous that schools should open.
“So, we have to compromise and as PTF we shall monitor what is happening on a daily basis. There could be some review again”, Adamu said.
Both private and public schools in the country resumed for second term sessions on Monday amidst the increasing number of people contracting COVID-19 in the country.
The Nigerian Centre for Disease Control, NCDC, on Tuesday reported 1,617 new cases of COVID-19 in the country, with Lagos high on the list with 776 positive cases.
Kaduna, Kwara and the Federal Capital Territory also recorded high numbers with the agency announcing, 147, 131 and 102 respectively
The country now has a total of 112,004 confirmed cases, 89,939 discharged patients and 1,449 deaths.