Prof. Kate Omenugha
As part of the State Government’s effort to ensure that students in terminal classes return safely back to school, Prof. Kate Omenugha, Anambra Commissioner for Education stated that the State Executive Council has approved the procurement and distribution of 1,000 infrared thermometers to public primary and secondary schools. This is in line with the safety protocols contained in the 52- page-guideline released by the Federal Ministry of Education to ensure that these students return back to school and prepare for their external examinations.
Addressing newsmen in Awka yesterday, she revealed that the schools got the equipment during the Ebola scourge in 2014. In fact, the new 1, 000 thermometers were replacement in schools where a recent inventory had shown that they were no longer functional. She added that other items including buckets and handwashing soap would be provided by the schools themselves. All these are part of efforts geared towards ensuring that the schools meet the minimum coronavirus (COVID-19) protocols.
Furthermore, Omenugha stated that the ministry had instructed all schools in the state to set up a task force team and also send out ‘Resumption Readiness Forms’, that would assess the level of readiness in line with all the safety measures. The safety measure also includes sanitation of the environment and spacing students within the classrooms.
According to her, 912 of such forms had been filled and returned, while over 95 percent representing over 866 of the schools that filled the forms had indicated their readiness. In addition, there were not less than 3, 000 public and private secondary and primary schools in the state, each of which must be ready before resumption.
In her words, “Exco has approved that we reopen for Junior Secondary School Examination (JSSE) and the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) for a date that will be announced after the ongoing stakeholders’ meeting. So we are ensuring that necessary measures are in place”. Meanwhile, last week she spoke on the level of preparedness of the state and its students to write the examination as well as its cost: “We are very prepared for the WASSCE. We have been teaching our students on-air and also through the WhatsApp platform. We are doing the much we can and also encouraging them to work harder on their own.”
INLANDTOWN 2020!
