COVID-19: NANS Opposes Postponement Of Schools Resumption

-Says Nigeria Must Tackle The Pandemic Based On Her Peculiarities, Limitations

By Daniel Dafe

The National Association.of Nigerian Students, NANS, has opposed the postponement of schools resumption announced by the Buhari adminstration to curb the spread of COVID-19.

A press statement by the President,
Sunday Asefon while commending “the consistent efforts of the federal government in galvanizing the entire country to respond to the coronavirus pandemic and in doing everything to access vaccines for Nigerians,” said rather “than postpone schools’ resumption, it has become imperative to address the alarming spread of COVID-19 and rising cases of deaths from a position of environmental strategy and human coordination.”

Asefon said they took this stand “since the lockdown mechanism can no longer be a mitigating option in the face of our economic reality.”

Adding: “The federal government must quickly come to a place of understanding that the majority of Nigerians are living in unorganized environments and structures that are not helping to curb the spread of the virus.

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“Accordingly, the federal government is immediately urged to rethink its approach and take only actions that can get more Nigerians into coordinated and regulated systems, like schools and offices, where hours of wearing face masks and complying with COVID Safety protocols can be guaranteed to curb the spread.”

Continuing, he said that “as student representatives and stakeholders, we make bold to state that having students and lecturers on campuses and in schools that are regimented and regulated environment, will help to raise consciousness and the bar of compliance with COVID rules.”

NANS promised to prevail on students union bodies to set up Students Task Force Against COVID-19 in every school, while asking the Federal Government to rejig its basic COVID Guide for school resumptions.”

“School resumption will also help the students, teachers, and lecturers to avoid social gatherings, regular travels while concentrating on the task of teaching and researching, which can also help to trigger the need to have a new alternative and approach to fighting the pandemic,” the statement added.

Furthermore, he noted “that while COVID-19 is a global pandemic being addressed across different climes, the time has come for us in Nigeria to address this virus based on our peculiarities and limitations.”

“We are open to a dialogue with the federal government should there be a need for cross-fertilization of our ideas and logical arguments,” he said.