Laide Raheem, Abeokuta
Ogun State Government has stepped down the COVID-19 test as a mandatory requirement for returning students in exit classes.
The state government equally directed that the government laboratories should carry out test for all returning SS3 boarding students at no cost.
Governor Dapo Abiodun made these known in a statement he personally signed, yesterday and made available to newsmen in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital.
Parents of students in private schools in the state, had, on Sunday, protested the N25,000 COVID-19 test levy.
The parents described the payment as “exorbitant, discriminatory and uncalled for” and called on the state government to rescind its decision.
Governor Abiodun, in the statement, said the test will be carried out for SS3 students in both public and private schools free of charge.
Abiodun, who also directed that all those who have paid for the tests be refunded, however, enjoined private school owners to exercise their duty of care to their pupils.
The governor explained that during re-opening engagements with stakeholders, opening of boarding houses was discussed and after consultations with health professionals, it was concluded that testing the children for COVID-19 before admittance would reduce the risk of community transmission.