COVID-19: Kaduna shutdown public schools

Governor El-Rufai had initially hinted of plan to lockdown the state

The Kaduna State Ministry of Education has shutdown all public schools across the 23 Local Government Area of the state due to second wave of COVID-19 pandemic.

The Commissioner of Education Dr Shehu Muhammad Makarfi disclosed in a statement issued on Tuesday.

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He said the ministry decided to shutdown the schools due to the rising cases of COVID-19 infections in the state which show a replicate of figures recorded in the first wave of the pandemic in April, May and June 2020, indicating that a new wave of the infection is rapidly spreading across the state.

“The State’s Ministry of Health has further confirmed that, while the infections cut across age groups, this new wave especially, affects those between 10 and 35 years (which form a majority of the populace in the education sector).

” In its effort to contain the spread of the pandemic and save the lives of people in the state, the Kaduna State Government is directing all public and private schools to conclude all necessary arrangements and close on Wednesday, 16th December, 2020 as opposed to the initial closings.

“Therefore, all examinations must be concluded on or before Tuesday, 15th December, 2020 in all institutions of learning across the state),” he said.

Dr Shehu added that Physical classes in the Universities and other Institutions of Higher Learning will not be held during the period of closure.

He said Institutions can make other arrangements for teaching and learning and other activities in line with their continuity and contingency plans.

He said to minimize the impact on teaching and learning, all schools will continue to plan lessons and where possible, provide online resources for students or online lessons where schools are equipped to do so.

He said learners in the basic, post basic and secondary school levels can continue learning while at home from the Kaduna State TV and Radio e-Learning Programmes.

According to him, while the State Government continues to exert efforts to prevent the spread of the pandemic, the general public “is urged to continuously comply with all COVID-19 Protocols to avoid the likelihood of the worst case scenarios of the disease in the State and parents are further advised to support their children to continue learning while at home..

Daily Trust had reported few days ago that the state Governor, Nasir El’rufai had hinted of plan to lock down the state if the citizens refused to abide by the COVID-19 protocols.