Ganduje rules out school closure amid COVID- 19 surge, outlines new strategy

Gov. Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano State has said that the closure of schools, amid COVID-19 surge, could cause a set back to the society, a statement issued by the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Abba Anwar, on Friday, said.

The governor, who made the observation in Kano at a meeting with Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) and order stakeholders, at the Government House, said there was, therefore, a dire need to fight the pandemic, through all available avenues.

“There is a dire need to fight the pandemic, but people should clearly understand the repercussions of certain actions in the process.

“The issue is not that of closing schools. When you close schools, it is another tragedy. Because, if you close schools with the intent that you take students away from COVID-19, the same pandemic is capable of following them into their respective homes.

“Closure of schools would take students and the system of education back again, it is because of this, that we exempted teachers from staying at home. Unlike other civil servants, whom we ordered must not come to work, but stay at home,” he explained.

He urged the people of the state to adhere strictly to COVID-19 protocols, while assuring them of government’s commitment to the state’s free and compulsory primary and secondary education policy.

The governor urged parents to help teachers and the government in making sure that their children always complied with COVID-19 protocols.

Ganduje, who also met with heads of tertiary institutions in the state, assured them that he would use the experience of the first wave to fight the pandemic, especially after he sent some recommendations to President Muhammadu Buhari, over certain measures to be adopted in the fight against the second wave of the pandemic in the state.

“We gave some recommendations to President on our approach in the fight against COVID-19 pandemic. When those recommendations get the President’s nod, some measures would be taken in the state, to quickly tame the pandemic, as was done in the first experience,” he added.