National Vice President of the National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools, NAPPS, South South, Dr Akpeme Ochukwu, has said that fumigation alone does not kill COVID-19.
Recalled that the Delta State government announced that final year students in secondary schools should resume academic activities to enable them to prepared for their external exams ahead.
Akpeme who is the proprietor of Classical International School, Delta State, told our correspondent that he sees no reason why the state government is laying more emphasis on fumigation rather than the COVID-19 safety measures knowing fully well that fumigation has no correlation with COVID-19.
He said Government should talk more about COVID-19 safety measures rather than stressing on fumigation.
He said, “I am not against fumigation of schools but what I am worried about is the way government is stressing it more than the usual COVID-19 safety measures of hand washing, use of face masks, hand sanitizers and thermometers.
“Fumigation is something that should be done regularly even without talking about COVID-19. I do fumigation of my school from time to time.”
He lamented that since the lockdown occasioned by the COVID-19, the Federal and state governments have not deemed it fit to assist private schools proprietors who he said have reduced the level of unemployment in the country.
“As a stakeholder in the education industry, and as someone who have travelled wide, I can tell you categorically that fumigation has no correlation with COVID-19. It does not kill COVID-19. So I see no reason why the government is emphasizing on it. It is something that I do all the time.
“One major challenge we have in the private schools is the unseriousness and lack of concern of government on the affairs of private schools.
“The government has failed to realise that private schools pupils are Nigerians. For almost five months now since we closed our schools, the government has not done anything for us. I have friend in other part of the world who are teachers in private schools. They are well taken care of by their government during the lockdown.
“Like I keep telling people, if it were not for private schools the unemployment rate in the country would have been worst than what we are having now.”
Some of the schools visited by our correspondent saw an average turnout of students and some of the teachers reporting early to schools.
Vice Principal of Uwangwe Secondary School, Warri, Mr Benjamin Akpobasa, said they were ready to for resumption of schools noting that the state government has provided some of the things they needed for the schools to resume.
He said, “Government has provided some material like facemasks, detergents and hand sanitizers for us.
Also, Dr Ochuko Ushure, Zonal Coordinator, Institute of Continuing Education (ICE), Warri Zone said that the school had observed all the protocols provided by the government.
“We have buckets, water, soap, hand sanitisers at various locations in the school premises for the students to wash their hand. We also ensure that they maintain social distancing, before resumption, we ensure that the classrooms are clean with soap and water.