Gabriel Dike
The Lagos State Government at weekend sealed ten private schools that violated the closure directives of the federal and state governments as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic to protect school pupils.
The Director General, Office of Education Quality Assurance (OEQA), Lagos State, Mrs. Abiola Seriki-Ayeni, who led the monitoring and investigation team of the office, disclosed this during the second and third phase of the monitoring of private schools compliance to the directive to curb the spread of COVID-19 still ravaging the country and the world at large.
A statement signed by the Public Affairs Officer of OEQA, Mr Olaniran Emmanuel quote Mrs. Seriki-Ayeni as saying that a large number of private schools visited across the state complied with the directive while non-complaint schools have been sealed.
The exercise, she further noted, would be continuous and encompassing, cutting across the six education districts in the state to discourage the non-chalant attitude of some schools to the shutdown directive.
She said the main reason for the monitoring exercise is the safety of all learners due to their vulnerability.
Said she: “No doubt, Covid-19 has had negative effects on our schools but we want students to come out stronger and better. We want to make sure schools are closed; we also want to make sure schools are adhering to the closure directive since the number of Covid-19 infection cases has increased dramatically over time. On the field, we want to stay put to what we know is true and we want to consistently do it to students and school based staff.”
The director general, who earlier warned of the danger inherent in the exposure and clustering of students in a class in the name of lesson further reiterated that any school where teaching and learning is ongoing while trying to beat government scrutiny without concern for the health and safety of learners will be sealed.
While admonishing parents and school owners, Mrs. Seriki-Ayeni encouraged them to abide by the directive of the Lagos State Government to stay safe and healthy by promoting washing of hands with soap, wearing of mask in public places and using alcohol based hand sanitizer.
“This is a unique time in the entire world, therefore, it is only the living that learns.”
The DG of OEQA pleaded with them to embrace the norm of online schooling. She also advised parents not to be found guilty for exposing the lives of their children to danger.
Seriki-Ayeni encouraged school owners to begin the process of thinking through the opportunities that exist at this time to up-skill their staff through online virtual training and webinar.
“This is the time to think and plan strategically to form good partnerships with government in order to get resources for your schools,” she urged parents.