Oyo cancels 3rd Term in schools, releases 2020/2021 Academic Calendar

The Oyo State Government has released the Academic Calendar for the 2020/2021 Academic Session and cancelled the Third Term for the 2019/2020 Academic Session for all primary and secondary schools in the State.

With the development, students are to be promoted based on their academic performance in the first and second terms of the suspended session, as schools were among the institutions shut down due to the outbreak of the novel Coronavirus.

The directive forms part of decisions reached at the State Executive Council meeting which was held on Tuesday.

A source in the Ministry of Education, who was privy to the meeting and pleaded anonymity, explained that the decision to review the Calendar and especially cancel the Third Term was strongly advocated by the Governor and exhaustively discussed by the Council.

According to the source, ”the Governor, at the meeting, was more concerned about the need to ensure that the students were not exposed unnecessarily and strongly advocated their safety as the State battles the Covid-19 pandemic.”

The source noted that the Governor, while advocating and approving the revised Calendar, was of the view that the way the terminal class students can adhere to the protocol and guidelines on COVID-19 may not be guaranteed with other students, hence the need to still keep the other students away.

Th Governor had initially targeted the July 15 drop-dead date for Covid-19. He also relied on expert views as well as the recommendations of the State Task Force Team in an exhaustive and in depth discussion before the decision was finally reached.

The source added that the proposal brought initially was for students to resume on rotational basis in all the classes but the Governor was emphatic about the guarantee on adherence to the laid down protocol to guard and curtail the spread of the virus, especially among the students.

In a statement issued by the State Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Mr Olasunkanmi Olaleye, the students in terminal classes, including Primary Six, Junior Secondary School 3 and Senior Secondary School 3, who had resumed on July 6, are to proceed on holiday from 30th July and resume for their examination, which detail has been released in the revised Academic Calendar.

Mr Olaleye said; “the Oyo State Executive Council at its meeting today 21st of July, 2020 has approved the Academic Calendar to guide resumption of schools and other associated educational activities in the State.”

“According to the approved calendar, Third Term 2019/2020 session has been cancelled and promotion of students, for all affected classes, will now be determined by First and Second Term Continuous Assessments,” the Commissioner stated.

He revealed that the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) would be between 10th and 18th of August, 2020; the Competitive Entrance Examination into the School of Science would be on August 19, 2020; the Placement/Screening Test into JSS1 on 20th August 2020, while the placement test into Technical Colleges would be on 28th August, 2020.

Mr Olaleye affirmed that SSS 3 students would resume for their examination as soon as WAEC announces the date, while the 2020/2021 Academic Session, according to the calendar approved by the State Council, is as follows:

First Term- 21st September to 18th December 2020.

Second Term- 11th January to 9th April 2021.

Third Term- 3rd May to 30th July 2021.

“The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology enjoins all stakeholders and members of the public to take note of the details of the academic calendar,” the Commissioner added.   (VON)