Update On Reopening Of Universities, Other Tertiary Institutions – FG

Update On Reopening Of Universities, Other Tertiary Institutions – FG

The federal government of Nigeria on Monday, 14th September, disclosed that a final decision has not been taken on the reopening of tertiary institutions in the country but the COVID-19 situation is been reviewed.
Minister of State for Education, Mr. Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba, who spoke on Monday during the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 briefing in Abuja, said the universities need to get clearance and procedures from the National Universities Commission (NUC) before reopening.

He added that after such clearance, the governing council of each institution will then have to benchmark the guidelines for implementation and put necessary structures and facilities before schools can reopen.

“…But at the tertiary level, that guidance will also be done in collaboration with the National Universities Commission so that it will give clearance that we are satisfied with your performance with regard to the guideline.
“What we are doing is that we are reducing this whole gamut of document into some measurable steps towards reopening. What that means is that governing council of each institution will then review the guideline and benchmark it,” he said.
For the state governments who had been reopening primary and secondary schools in their respective states, the Minister noted that their actions are in compliance with PTF position.

He however added that full COVID-19 procedures must be put in place and strictly adhered to as schools reopen across the country.
Nwajiuba stated this while reacting to a question about some state governments that have already announced full reopening of primary and secondary schools.
He said: “All primary schools up to post-primary schools have the participation of sub-nationals and at that level, they need to check and meet all the requirements before they open.

“You may have heard several states taking steps around reopening, they are all in order. This is what is expected from what the PTF said last week and following the guideline everybody will now begin the processes of reopening.
“However, they must be guided because in every state we have quality assurance officers that are reporting to the Federal Ministry of Education and we will not hesitate to shut down any place that is not in compliance with guidelines.”