The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has opposed the attempt by the Federal Government to postpone the resumption of schools nationwide against January 18, 2021, earlier announced.
NANS President, Comrade Sunday Asefon, in a statement on Tuesday in Abuja, urged the Federal Government not to further aggravate issues by keeping Nigerian children at home aimlessly.
He, however, commended the consistent efforts of the Federal Government in galvanizing the entire country to respond to the coronavirus pandemic and in doing everything to access vaccines for Nigerians.
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Asefon, said instead of postponing the resumption of schools, it has become imperative to address the alarming spread of COVID-19 and rising cases of deaths from a position of environmental strategy and human coordination since the lockdown mechanism could no longer be a mitigating option in the face of the economic reality.
He said the Federal Government must quickly come to a place of understanding that the majority of Nigerians are living in unorganized environments and structures that are not helping to curb the spread of the virus.
He, therefore, urged the government to rethink its approach and take only actions that could get more Nigerians into coordinated and regulated systems, like schools and offices, where hours of wearing face masks and complying with COVID safety protocols could be guaranteed to curb the spread.
He said: “As students representatives and stakeholders, we make bold to state that having students and lecturers on campuses and in schools that are regimented and regulated, will help to raise consciousness and the bar of compliance with COVID rules.
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“Consequently, the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) is undertaking to prevail on students union bodies to set up Students Task Force Against COVID-19 in every school, while asking the Federal Government to rejig its basic COVID guide for school resumptions.
“School resumption will also help the students, teachers, and lecturers to avoid social gatherings, regular travels while concentrating on the task of teaching and researching, which can also help to trigger the need to have a new alternative and approach to fighting the pandemic
“While COVID-19 is a global pandemic being addressed across different climes, the time has come for us in Nigeria to address this virus based on our peculiarities and limitations.
“We are open to a dialogue with the federal government should there be a need for cross-fertilization of our ideas and logical arguments,” he said.
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