The government of Imo State has declared the environment as not yet conducive to reopen private and public schools. This is owing to the coronavirus pandemic which, according to the government, has not been fully contained.
Prof. B.T.O Ikegwuoha, the Commissioner for Education in a press release from the office of State’s Ministry of Education, stated that the Federal Ministry of Education did not mandate all the 36 states to reopen their schools at the same time.
According to the Commissioner the directive earlier given by the Minister of State for Education, Chukwumeka Nwajiuba was that all the 36 states can reopen their schools after September 17, 2020 based on the peculiarities of individual States.
Ikegwuoha enjoined the general public to disregard the purported claims by the opposition party that the Governor, Senator Hope Uzodinma has shut down Imo schools forever. He described such claims as lacking base and ridiculous.
The Commissioner said that the government of Imo State was more concerned about the safety of the students and was continuously putting more measures in place to prevent the Covid-19 pandemic from affecting the school children when they eventually commence.
He affirmed that the Imo State Executive Council has mandated the Commissioner for Health to expedite immediate actions and present the result/report of compulsory community testing in all the 27 Local Government Areas of the State within a period of one week to enable the government give assent to the reopening of schools in the State.
Furthermore, he reassured the students of Imo State that schools will be reopened within the shortest possible time as the government, he said, was making frantic effort to ensure a more conducive learning environment. He encouraged the students and other stakeholders concerned to exercise a little more patience.
