The Federal Government, on Thursday, said state governments and school administrators should start making preparations for the full reopening of schools.
All schools in the country had been shut in March as part of measures to curb the spread of coronavirus disease.
However, the Federal Government announced the resumption of graduating pupils effective August 4, 2020, to write the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) from August 17, 2020, through September 12, 2020.
Speaking on Thursday, the National Coordinator of the Presidential Taskforce on COVID-19, Dr Sani Aliyu, during a briefing at the Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport, Abuja, said the task force recommends phased return of students.
“For educational institutions which include daycare, primary, secondary and tertiary institutions, educational institutions should begin the process of working towards potentially reopening within this phase.
“However, we strongly recommend that states conduct risk assessment to ensure all schools are at a level of compliance and create a monitoring mechanism to assess, create and monitor this level of preparedness.
“Meanwhile, all daycares and educational institutions are to remain closed to in-classes until this level of risk is assessed. And if there will be opening of schools, it must be staged and preferably carried out in phases to ensure that this does not pose a risk to the general public and in particular to vulnerable groups that might end up getting infected by students going back home,” Aliyu said.
Aliyu also disclosed that the nationwide curfew in place in the country to restrict movement amid the coronavirus pandemic is now from 12am to 4am.
He said: “I will first of all start with general movement. We are modifying the curfew to commence from midnight to 4am nationwide, effective from 12am tonight.
“This does not apply to people on essential services and international travellers that might be returning from abroad.”
The PTF, following the lifting of the lockdown occasioned by the pandemic, had on May 4, 2020, imposed a nationwide curfew from 6pm to 8am. It later reviewed it to between 10pm and 4am on June 1, 2020.
