Reps Propose Three-month Postponement of School Resumption

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Obiajulu Joel Nwolu

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The House of Representatives has frowned at the decision of the Federal Government to allow schools to resume on Monday despite a spike in cases of COVID-19.

The Green chamber alleged that the Federal Government failed to consult the relevant committees of the National Assembly, contrary to their claim that all relevant stakeholders were consulted before arriving at the January 18, 2021, resumption date.

The house, therefore, asked the federal government to postpone the resumption of schools for three months, pending implementation of safety measures against COVID-19.

This was disclosed by Prof Julius Ihonvbere, Chairman of the House Committee on Basic Education and Services in a telephone interview with The Punch on Saturday.

He said, “They did not consult us; at least in my committee, nobody from the ministry spoke to me. I have been in Abuja. And I am not sure that they spoke to any of my members. They just don’t see us as part of the critical stakeholders,” he said.

Ihonvbere, in a statement he issued in Abuja on Saturday, titled “School resumption: Are we truly prepared?” on behalf of his committee, opposed the Monday resumption date.

It read, “The Committee on Basic Education and Services, House of Representatives, has received with concern the decision of the Federal Government to reopen schools on January 18, 2021.

“We are particularly concerned that when the infection rates hovered around 500 and under, schools were closed; but now that it hovers well above 1,000 infections daily, schools are being reopened. Why are we rushing to reopen schools without adequate verifiable and sustainable arrangements to protect and secure our children?”