The federal government
has announced August 4, 2020 as the date for resumption of secondary schools
across the country.
This was contained in a
statement issued on Monday by Ben Bem Goong, director of press and public
relations, ministry of education.
According to the
statement, the decision was reached after a meeting of stakeholders in the education
sector on Monday.
Only students in exit
classes are expected to resume, so that they can participate in the West
African Examination (WAEC) exercise scheduled to begin on August 17, 2020.
“Secondary schools in
the country are to reopen as from the 4th of August, 2020 for exit classes
only. Students will have two weeks within which to prepare for the West African
Examinations (WAEC) due to start on the 17th of August, 2020,” the statement
read.
“These were the
unanimous decisions reached today at a virtual consultative meeting between the
Federal Ministry of Education, Honourable Commissioners of Education of the 36
states, the Nigeria Union of Teachers, (NUT), the proprietors of private
schools, and Chief Executives of examination bodies.
“It was agreed that the
exit classes should resume immediately after the Sallah break, from the 4th of
August, 2020 to enable them prepare for the WAEC examinations scheduled to
commence from the 17th of August, 2020.
“The meeting also
resolved that a passionate appeal be made to the Federal Government through the
Presidential Task Force on Covid-19 and public spirited Nigerians for
assistance to schools across the country to enable them fast track the
preparations for safe reopening, as agreed.”
Another meeting is
scheduled for Tuesday “between the federal ministry of education and chief
executives of examination bodies namely, NECO, NABTEB and NBAIS to harmonise
their examination dates, which will be conveyed to stakeholders expeditiously
by the Federal Ministry of Education”.
In March 2020, schools
across the country were closed in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Although it was
announced earlier in July that schools would reopen, the decision was reversed and
federal government colleges were exempted from taking part in the WAEC
examinations for the year 2020.
Various reactions
followed the decision, with the house of representatives, as well as other
stakeholders in the education sector, urging the government to reconsider.
The ministry of
education had eventually announced that it would discuss with WAEC on a
possible shift in the date for the commencement of the examination, which was
earlier scheduled to begin on August 4.
On July 13, 2020, the ministry of education released guidelines to ensure safety and prevent
the spread of the coronavirus in school environments.
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