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Lagos State chapter of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) has rejected plans by the governments of South West states to reopen schools to enable students sit for the 2020 West African Senior Secondary Certificate Examinations (WASSCE).
Amid insistence by the Federal Government against reopening schools to enable Senior Secondary School 3 pupils sit for the exam, the six Southwest states – Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Ondo, Osun and Ekiti – had agreed to reopen its schools next month to allow candidates sit for the exam, MERIDIAN SPY reports.
The Commissioners for Education in the six South West states, special advisers on Education and State Universal Education Board (SUBEB) chairmen made the agreement at a virtual meeting organised by the Development Agenda for Western Nigeria (DAWN) Commission on Wednesday.
But, Mr Adesina Adedoyin, the Lagos NUT Chairman, reacting to decision by the South West states to commence the SSCE exam in August, said it was disheartening that the governors and the Federal Government could not take a uniform decision.
“The Federal Government is saying no resumption and the South-West governors are saying pupils should resume,” said Adedoyin.
“There should be a synergy between the federal and state governments. The task force members know the extent of the pandemic and if the curve has not been flattened, they will not advise schools to reopen.”
He explained that the teachers and pupils were ready to resume, but the health of every stakeholder should be considered.
“It is people who are alive that can write examinations and use certificates for further studies.
“What is paramount now are the children; they are the most vulnerable. You don’t know where they have branched or visited on their way home. If we are not careful, the cases we have might increase.”
The teachers union chairman added that the NUT in the state would not support school resumption because of the rising COVID-19 cases and the limited testing centres available in the state.
156 new COVID-19 cases were confirmed in Lagos, out of the 595 cases newly confirmed in Nigeria, while a total of 34,854 infections has so far been recorded in the country.
