The Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 has issued fresh guidelines for the reopening of schools in Nigeria.
The National Coordinator of the PTF, Sani Aliyu, announced the new guidelines at the bi-weekly briefing of the agency in Abuja on Thursday October 8, 2020.
He said the Federal Ministry of Education, the PTF and the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) developed the guidelines to ensure schools can reopen, minimise the risk of transmission and continue to operate safely.
While urging schools to adhere strictly to the guidelines, he said, “Schools and educational bodies that plan to reopen must have detailed communication protocols that include parents, school health teams, school authorities, and local state officials.”
“They must also have a system for providing regular updates to parents, staff and relevant authorities as well as communicate changes to procedures effectively and clearly as well as taking sufficient measures to understand how COVID-19 can spread and how to mitigate transmission in line with official guidelines,” he added.
Aliyu added that school authorities have the responsibilities to ensure that everyone gaining access to their schools is screened properly, and that “they should wear a mask and sanitise their hands”
He said boarding schools must identify areas for screening and putting positive students aside and “there must be access to running water and handwashing facilities.
“The health staff, particularly in boarding schools, must be trained and provided with PPE (Personal Protective Equipment). There must be appropriate waste management systems,” he said.
