Paul Osuyi, Asaba
The Delta State Government has approved the re-opening of public and private nursery schools after over seven months of COVID-19 induced holiday.
The nursery schools would resume for academic activities for the 2020/2021 session on Monday, November 9, according to a statement by the State Commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education, Mr Patrick Ukah.
While other classes had fully resumed last month, resumption for the nursery session has been put on hold till January 2021.
Ukah, in the statement, said the resumption was reviewed because of the straightening of the COVID-19 curve and advice from the state Ministry of Health.
Stating that the calendar approved for the 2020/2021 academic session applies to the nursery schools, Mr Ukah said that COVID-19 protocols applicable to schools have been sent to associations of private schools for onward transmission to all their members, all heads of public primary schools and other relevant stakeholders.
He cautioned school heads to take extra care in strict observance of the COVID-19 protocols considering the tender ages of children in nursery classes.
The commissioner warned that under no circumstance must pupils be kept in school beyond the stipulated school hours, adding that extra classes are not allowed for the pupils.
Ukah advised parents and guardians to promptly pick their children at the end of school hours, warning of severe sanctions for school heads who flout the conditions outlined for the resumption.
He revealed that the monitoring of schools by officials of the ministry will be scaled up and made more frequent to effectively ensure compliance with the COVID-19 protocols by school authorities.