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Gabriel Dike, Lagos
The Lagos State Office of Education Quality Assurance (OEQA) has condemned owners of private primary and secondary schools for reopening their institutions in violation of a directive for the closing of schools by the state government.
A statement from the office of the OEQA Director-General warned school owners to desist from reopening their schools under whatever guise, saying the act risks exposing pupils to contracting COVID-19.
The statement signed by OEQA spokesman Mr Olaniran Emmanuel said the state government further warned that any school caught flouting the directive of the Federal and the Lagos State Governments on school closure would be heavily sanctioned.
The Federal Government had ordered the closure of schools across the country to curtail exposure to the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) among students because of their vulnerability and inability to observe social distancing.
To ensure compliance, the Office of Education Quality Assurance Monitoring and Investigation team has embarked on a compliance monitoring exercise across the state to ensure schools adhere strictly to the directive of the Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu.
According to OEQA Director-General Mrs Abiola Seriki-Ayeni, central to the monitoring exercise is the safety of all children, teachers and the general public. She stated that the state has witnessed a total compliance rate except for a few schools.
She advised such schools to stop forcing students/pupils to school, an act that could jeopardise the future of innocent children. She warned that any school caught will face the wrath of the law.
Seriki-Ayeni, who said the general public will be notified when it is right and safe for students to return to school, advised the public to reach the office through its official emails: [email protected] or [email protected].
Since the advent of the closure, some Lagos schools have organised coaching lesson in which pupils are required to come to school.
