AUTHENTIC AND OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENT ON SCHOOL RESUMPTION IN IMO STATE
All Schools: Nursery, Primary, Secondary and Tertiary Institutions are to reopen on Monday, January 25, 2021.
To reopen or resume, all the Covid-19 protocols must be compulsorily observed. They include but not limited to:
-Wearing of Face-masks
-Maintaining physical/social distancing
-Avoiding clustering, congregating and gathering together at a place
-Washing hands regularly with soap and/or sanitization of hands with sanitizers
-Avoiding crowded lectures with pupils and students
-Using Infrared Thermometers to measure the temperature of all pupils, students, staff, visitors and others
-Clearing/cutting of all grown grasses and making sure the environment is clean; fumigation where applicable must be done
-All restrooms must have running water
-Designating a room as “Sick Bay” for isolating anyone who is sick with high temperature, etc.
The Ministry of Education has concluded plans to setup Monitoring Teams that will monitor the implementation and adherence of these protocol inside and outside of the school premises. Any School Head, Principal or the head of the Tertiary Institutions (Federal or State) in Imo State, will be sanctioned and if need be, will be shut down. Compliance to the rules, regulations and laws must be observed. “A word is enough for the wise”.
PLEASE NOTE:
-Imo State would have resumed its schools on Jan. 18, 2021 but for the rise in coronavirus infections in three Local Government Areas of: Owerri Municipal, Owerri North and South. For this singular reason and in consideration of the wellbeing and health of the good people of Imo State, Imo State Government decided to watch the situation; consequently, January 25, 2021 is the tentative date for the resumption of schools in Imo State.
-Meanwhile, community testing is ongoing in the 27 Local Government Areas of the state. It will be completed on or before January 21, 2021. At that point, the State Government will take a decision on a particular line of action to be taken.
-As a responsible government, we want to err on the side of caution because of the fact that people’s lives are on the line; therefore, it has become pertinent that we do not rush to reopen on January 18, 2021. Any private school that resumes earlier than January 25, 2021, will have its license suspended and the school will be closed down. Do not try the the will and authority of Government.
-We are aware that some States will reopen on January 18, 2021 but as announced by Governor Obaseki, Edo State’s school resumption has now been scheduled for the First Week of February 2021 due high rise in coronavirus infection. As you can see, every state has its own unique and peculiar situation and circumstance as far as the Covid-19 pandemic (crisis) is concerned. Indeed, there’s no one size of a pair of shoes that must fit all, this is the reality of the Nigeria Federal System that we operate today.
Thanks for your understanding at this critical and trying time.
Prof. B. T. O Ikegwuoha
Hon. Commissioner for Education
Imo State