Nigerian newspapers · 10 July 2020
Sack ministers for stopping school resumption - Afenifere demands
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The pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere has condemned the decision of the Federal Government to keep schools closed in the country indefinitely. The group charged President Buhari to sack the ministers in of education for planning to ground education for a year.
The Secretary General of the association, Bashorun Sehinde Arogbofa, said the Federal Government should have allowed pupils to resume and find means of protecting them against coronavirus disease instead of declaring that schools should remain closed until further notice.
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He said, “Adamu Adamu should be sacked, he cannot take our school system back to the stone age. They had about six months to plan for these children. What did the Federal Government do?
“It means the two of them (Adamu and the Minister of State for Education) don’t know what they are doing, so they should go. I think the two ministers in the ministry should go. Why would one say the pupils should resume to take their paper in August and the other minister would come and reverse the order?”
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This declaration by the Afenifere came following the reaction of Nigerians condemning the extended closure of schools and suspension of school reopening for graduating classes.
The Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, on Wednesday after the weekly Federal Executive Council, FEC meeting presided by President Muhammadu Buhari had announced that 2020 West African Senior School Certificate Examination, WASSCE, has been postponed indefinitely for Nigerian students.
The Minister stressed that it is more preferable for the students to lose an academic year than to be exposed to dangers amid the raging coronavirus pandemic.
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The development was met with criticism and diverse reactions from Nigerians on social media. Many expressed worries that the delays in opening of schools and preventing students from sitting for their WAEC exams will have a ripple effect on those in previous classes and universities.
Some of the comments gathered from Twitter read thus;
@ProfCS5 “What happened to pool testing WAEC candidates and letting them write their exams? We need to find a way to live with this virus! Knee jerk reactions will not save us!
@Dtraveller01 “It is only Nigeria that is claiming not ready to reopen school among the 5 West Africa member countries. Ghana with worse COVID-19 cases has been ready more than a month ago to take the exam. Don’t just lock the school, what actions are you taking to reopen schools?”
@Sirvhik “Our universities barely admit 30% of UTME applicants. So I don’t think postponing the exams and increasing the number of applicants is a good idea at all.”
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@HisMkay “My problem is not this SS3, the next coming SS3. One year has been removed from your classes. You guys will repeat SS2 or there will be SS4.”
@NiyiOyinlola “We can reopen schools, the guidelines need to be improved. All final year students from primary to tertiary institutions have enough space to do anything they need to do.”
@Samisah01 “Dead people don’t get degrees. I am personally affected by this closure as a teaching staff but to be honest, we have to consider safety before anything else. Only the living can go to school.”
@Chidi Peter “I agree. It’s only when we are alive that we can go to school. The dead cannot go to school.”
@OgbeniDipo “It is very unfortunate that students won’t be taking WAEC this year. So they would potentially lose a year because of coronavirus. As unfortunate as it is, most people will agree that it is what it is and there is nothing the government can do if schools cannot be safely opened.
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@Akinolafestus “Level of risk taken differs. What do we lose if WAEC is delayed till January or Feb 2021, Higher education too cannot resume. The best is to shift everything forward including University/polytechnic admission forward.”
@FreddyMarshall “At least, the government won’t be liable for children’s health.”
“The Federal Government and National Assembly will have to find a way to compensate students who will miss WAEC this year. Perhaps for next year, allow anyone with 150 & above in JAMB exam get into the university of their choice. There are no easy solutions.”
@OforPeter “Do these people somehow believe that school children are locked indoors in their respective homes. Or that this coronavirus is concentrated in schools?
@FatopeTilewa “But these students are already in the market helping their parents, some are even going to tutorial already, so why can’t they go to school?”