COVID-19: Ebonyi Announces Date For Full School Resumption

Posted by Ignatius Okpara African News, Featured, Latest Headlines, News, News Across Nigeria, News From The State Friday, September 18th, 2020

(AFRICAN EXAMINER) – As the dreaded Coronavirus pandemic continues to subside in Nigeria, the governor David Nweze Umahi led Government in Ebonyi state, South- East Nigeria, has announced that it will re-open schools in the state on October 5, 2020, with the exception of kindergarten and crèches.

Commissioner for Education in the state, Mr. Onyebuchi Chima, disclosed this Thursday while briefing newsmen at the end of the state’s Executive Council meeting in Abakaliki, the state capital.

He said the outcome of the executive council meeting was a “good one’’ for the state ministry of education as it approved the memo from the ministry for the re-opening of schools.

According to him, “the resumption will be for the primary, secondary and tertiary levels of education as academic activities will be ‘staggered’ based on the ministry’s recommendation.

Chima added that “This means that there will be two sections for schools: morning and afternoon sessions with the morning sessions starting from 8a.m to 12 p.m., while the afternoon will start from 12.15 p.m. to 4.p.m.

“The junior primary section: 1–3 and junior secondary 1-3 classes will have their sessions in the morning, while the senior primary: 4–6 and senior secondary 1-3 classes will run in the afternoon session.

“This implies that each session will run for four hours and we will dedicate the first two to three weeks of academic resumption to intensive studies to conclude the remaining programmes of the 2019/ 2020 academic sessions,” he said.

“We will subsequently conduct a mini-promotional examination to enable the schools to move fully into the 2020/21 academic session.

“The ministry applied, and the executive council approved that we will not resume kindergarten and crèches in the state for pupils from 0-5 years.

“This is because we know that the COVID-19 pandemic is subsiding, but we should not give it the opportunity to spring its ugly head again.” the Commissioner stated.