Public primary and secondary schools across the 774 local government councils in Nigeria may introduce a shift education policy due to their inability to meet the standard of safety recommended for reopening.
The schools are expected to commence academic programme on September 21, 2020, but investigations carried out by BusinessDay show that many of the schools are without required infrastructure and other essential facilities to accommodate the large numbers of students per class.
At the moment, a good number of primary and post-primary schools in the country accommodate between 100 and 140 students per class, while a few others have between 60 and 80 students per class. This is far more than the standard of between 25 and 30 students per class which is recommended for safety reopening.
The schools with large number of students per class, BusinessDay learnt, are to be given the option of either running a shift system or day interval model of education, according to facilities at their disposal.
School principals who spoke with BusinessDay explained that the ministry authority ordered them to submit their schools’ needs as well as a blueprint towards reopening. They, however, noted that “most of the schools will operate either shifting system [morning and afternoon session] or day interval system due to lack of adequate classrooms, health and communication facilities”.
“Going by the protocol’s requirement for reopening, most of our public schools can’t meet the required standard due to over-population in classes and the only option left is either shifting or day interval system,” Olanrewaju Oniyitan, a school principal, said. “We have no option than to run either shifting or day interval system so as to accommodate the large number of students in virtually 80 percent of public schools in the country,” he said.
However, BusinessDay gathered that public schools with less number of students could operate daily as they used to since accommodation won’t be an issue.
Abiola Seriki-Ayeni, Director General, Office of Education Quality Assurance (OEQA), Lagos State, in an exclusive chat with BusinessDay, said for the reopening to be successful, there are few things that are required to be put in place. “We need to have a communications plan, health safety plan and academic plan in place to make sure that the behaviour of our students and staff are in alignment with the new normal of COVID-19.
“We recognise for where we are. The most important thing is to be honest for where we are. At the moment, your infrastructures, the buildings, remain the same but your students and staff make the difference. “We need to be ready and close temporarily if the need arises. We have the reopening committee led by the Tutor-General/Permanent Secretary, Education District III, Yinka Ayodele, whose responsibilities include to see that the schools meet the standard of safety recommended,” Seriki-Ayeni said.
