Schools must create isolation spaces before reopening — FG

By SUNDAY ABORISADE and LEKE BAIYEWU

The Federal Ministry of Education has proposed that schools must create isolation spaces before reopening.

This was contained in the ‘Guidelines for schools and learning facilities reopening after COVID-19 pandemic closure’, submitted to the National Assembly on Tuesday.

The document noted that each school is “required to create temporary isolation spaces and fully-equipped clinics before reopening”.

They have also been mandated to “establish a referral system, including protocols and procedures to take if learners, teachers, administrators, and other education personnel become unwell while in schools”.

Apart from that, the Federal Government in the document mandated any state wishing to reopen schools to “hold adequate consultations with the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 and the parents”.

The guidelines also required proprietors to construct additional structures and employ more teachers to ensure that they accommodate their students by adhering to the two-metre spacing system in classrooms.

Proprietors have also been asked to seek “grants to procure soaps and buckets, ensure regular safe water supply, ensure a constant supply of learning and instructional materials, and pay salaries on time. (The PUNCH)