BY FOLASHADE SHIYANBOLA
THE President, National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools, Yomi Otubela, has reiterated the readiness of schools to adhere strictly to COVID-19 safety protocols.
According to him, schools have been at the forefront of support for strict adherence to the COVID-19 protocols as recommended by the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 and the Nigeria Center for Disease Control, within the school environment.
He said they would continue to do the same as schools reopen on Monday.
He said this while speaking at a press conference tagged #KEEPSCHOOLSOPEN, organised by the association on Zoom.
The President added that the assertion could be supported by clean bills of health received by various schools’ management during the earlier visits of government’s monitoring teams on COVID-19 safety protocols to schools in the country.
He listed the COVID-19 safety protocol practices in place in schools to include enforcement of the use of face masks for learners, teachers, support staff and visitors; provision of facilities to ensure frequent washing and sanitising of hands with alcohol-based hand sanitizers; and daily temperature reading of learners, teachers, support staff and visitors to the schools.
Others are observance of the physical distancing rule in classes and school buses.
He said visitors to the schools were also made to strictly follow COVID-19 safety protocols otherwise they would be turned back from entering the school premises.
“No sick learners, staff or visitors are allowed into the school premises and there is availability of qualified health practitioner(s) within the school environment for monitoring the health of students, teachers and others within the school environment,” he said.
Otubela added that NAPPS, as an association, had also put in place its internal monitoring committee to ensure private schools in the country continued to adhere to the recommended COVID-19 safety protocols.
He, however, urged the Federal Government to also put in place enforcement mechanism of all non-pharmaceutical protocols in the schools’ system.
“We also encourage the Federal Government to invest in vaccination that will go round in good time,” he added.
The president also called on parents to own the fight against the spread of COVID-19 through the Parents Teachers Association.
“PTA should form COVID-19 Compliance officers among parents that will rotate visitation to schools on a regular basis for compliance,” he said.
