Oyo State stakeholders in education sector have lauded the level of compliance with COVID-19 safety protocols in both public and private schools.
In separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria(NAN) the stakeholders in Ibadan commended schools for adhering to the COVID-19 guidelines.
Mr Kayode Adeyemi, the President, National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools, (NAPPS) in Oyo State, said he appreciated God and all stakeholders who made it possible to commence the 2020 academic year contrary to initial moves to cancel or postpone examinations.
He stated that all feedbacks and reports suggested a positive experience in terms of compliance with the COVID-19 protocols and smooth conduct of the examination.
“So far so good, there has not been any adverse report and we thank God almighty for this progress,” he said.
Also speaking, Mr Tojuade Adedoyin, the Oyo State Chairman of Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), said based on the number of schools visited, the state had complied fully with COVID-19 preventive measures.
“When you get to the schools, you will see the hall where students were spaced to observe social distancing and all the candidates put on their face masks.
“At the entrance of those exam halls, you will see washing hand basins and hand sanitisers as well as an infrared thermometers to measure the temperature of the students.
“So to certain degrees, virtually all the schools visited yesterday complied with COVID-19 preventive measures,” Adedoyin said.
The NAPPS president insisted that contrary to insinuations of flouting guidelines by gathering in clusters , he said students were adhering to safety protocols as much as they could.
He argued that the situation was unlike marketplaces and the transportation sector.
“To a certain extent, the students are doing what they could.
”But we know that even these same children at home were playing football together, they were roaming around the neighbourhood, who was monitoring them then?
“Is it now that they came to school preparing for their examination that some people are saying one story or the other?
“Every school has an infrared thermometer and each school in the state is taking responsibility to enforce COVID-19 safety protocols and that is what matters,” he said.
Adedoyin also said the education sector deserved commendation as operators had been adhering to safety protocols on COVID-19 even more than in other sectors.
“Go to the markets and the banks and see what is happening there as people flout these guidelines without any reservation.
“To say students cluster together before the examination is expected because the students will have revision among themselves.
“But we keep discouraging that by enlightening them that for their own safety because COVID-19 is not a respecter of age, status or otherwise, they should observe all the measures given to them.
“We are assured that by the grace of God we will not record any COVID-19 incident in schools even as we continue to abide by the safety rules,” Adedoyin said. (NAN)
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