The House of Representatives has faulted the Federal Government’s approval of resumption of schools on Monday, January 18, 2021, despite the increasing cases of COVID-19.
The House said relevant committees of the National Assembly were not duly consulted by government officials before arriving at the decision to resume schools on the scheduled date.
It, therefore, suggested the resumption be postponed for at least another three months, to allow for number of infections in the country to be monitored.
Julius Ihonvbere, the Chairman of the House Committee on Basic Education and Services, disclosed these in an interview on Saturday.
He said, “They did not consult us; at least in my committee, nobody from the ministry spoke to me. I have been in Abuja. And I am not sure that they spoke to any of my members. They just don’t see us as part of the critical stakeholders.”
The lawmaker also released a statement on behalf of his committee, which partly read, “The Committee on Basic Education and Services, House of Representatives, has received with concern the decision of the Federal Government to reopen schools on January 18, 2021.
“We are particularly concerned that when the infection rates hovered around 500 and under, schools were closed; but now that it hovers well above 1,000 infections daily, schools are being reopened. Why are we rushing to reopen schools without adequate verifiable and sustainable arrangements to protect and secure our children?”
