… says ‘we’re working on suitable date for resumption’
To improve the quality of education in post-Coronavirus pandemic in Lagos, the state government will be recruiting no fewer than 2000 teachers ahead of the re-opening of schools in the state.
The newly recruited teachers, according to the state government, will make up for those who have retired from the system, to revamp the education sector which went comatose following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, which also forced schools, both public and private, to shut down.
The state’s Commissioner for Education, Mrs. Folashade Adefisayo, disclosed this while highlighting Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu administration’s plans for education during an online discussion tagged ‘Convinspiration Show’ moderated by a United Nations Youth Ambassador, Dayo Israel, to keep the public abreast of government’s activities in the last one year.
Adefisayo added that the 2000 new teachers would fill observed gaps and boost the standard of public primary school education in the state.
Although is still not certain when the schools would re-open, the commissioner said officials of the state were already discussing with the Federal authorities with a view to arriving at a date on the advice of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control.
“Lagos State Government is working with the Federal Ministry of Education and the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) to arrive at a suitable time for the resumption of schools,” she said.
She said the state government could not unilaterally announce the reopening of schools since the pandemic did not affect only Lagos.
The commissioner hinted that like other sectors already granted approval by the Federal Government to reopen, the state government was meeting with officials of the Federal Ministry of Education to design guidelines that must be adopted before the schools would be reopened.
Adefisayo said, “We are watching the behaviour of the pandemic to see what happens next and we are working with the Federal Government on the reopening of the schools in the country. This is not a decision that any state can unilaterally take on its own. If we are certain that the children are safe, we will reopen the schools for learning to resume.
“We are working with the Federal Ministry of Education and they are working with the National Center for Disease Control (NCDC) on the guidelines that could be adopted when the need arises for the schools to reopen.
“After the protocol is completed and health officials assure us that the coast is clear, we will give the schools some days to adjust their premises in accordance with the guidelines on commencement of academic activities.”
The commissioner further noted that the protocol would be enforced by the Lagos State Office of Education Quality Assurance to ensure strict compliance by both public and private schools across the state.
Adefisayo, who regretted the outbreak of COVID-19 and its impact on the education sector, the state government was, however, undertaking key projects to boost learning when the schools resume.
“The most important aspect of learning is the quality of teachers and we did not have enough teachers to actualise the set plan for learning in our public schools. And one of the earliest things we requested and was granted by the governor was the recruitment of teachers.
“We have concluded the recruitment of 1,000 secondary school teachers. And we are currently working on the recruitment of 2,000 teachers for public primary schools. And we are looking at employing teachers every quarter because the rate of retirement of teachers is very high in Lagos.
“The administration has granted the ministry permission to replace retired teachers.”
She said apart from recruiting teachers, the state government had spent a lot on the training of existing teachers to improve their teaching skills, adding, “This COVID-19 period was the time when we were able to do a lot of things in the education sector of Lagos state.”
