Row over Ebola and Schools Resumption: Did FG breach global norm?

By DAYO ADESULU Concerns from stakeholders have continued to mount over the decision of the Federal Government to review the resumption date for private and public schools to September 22 due to Ebola Virus Disease, EVD. To many parents, the decision is not in the best interest of children. They warned that the reopening of schools, which will involve about 80 million Nigerians adolescents, pupils and teachers, is a high-risk strategy. Parents, who are primarily at the receiving end, want to know the rationale behind the reversal of the initial October 13 resumption date to September 22. Incidentally, the extension and reversal of resumption date is the second major decision Malam Ibrahim Shekarau will take since he assumed office as the Minister of Education. The first decision was to appeal to polytechnic and colleges of education lecturers to go back to classroom, promising to look into their case. Stakeholders are watching to know if he will pass this national test. PROF. ONYEBUCHI CHUKWU PROF. ONYEBUCHI CHUKWU Shortly after the outbreak of Ebola in the country, the Federal Ministry of Education held a meeting with the Ministries of Education in the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to discuss the way out. Shekarau, in announcing the decision by government to reverse itself on the resumption date, said measures put in place to curb the spread of Ebola were still intact. The minister noted that any Ministry of Education in the 36 states that has not appointed desk officers on Ebola should do that before the resumption. At the meeting, he charged the ministries to ensure that at least two staff in each school are trained by appropriate health workers on how to handle any suspected case of Ebola. He told them to embark on immediate sensitization of teaching and non-teaching staff in schools on preventive measures, stating that the training must be concluded before schools resume. The question begging for an answer, however, is: Have the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory put in place the preventive measures in the private and public schools? Till date, at our international airports, the only form of test for Ebola is temperature taking. Eight days to September 22, there is no evidence that the order for the training of two staff in each school has been complied with by even the Federal Government schools, leaving those of the states in serious doubt. In addition, globally, the standard for declaring an Ebola outbreak over in a particular location is two full incubation periods (21 days x 2= 42 days) without a case. What this implies is that 42 days should be counted after the last Ebola patient is treated and certified okay in a location. Government, which is supposed to be well informed and guide its citizenry on the Ebola issue, owes the public explanations on why the “42-day no Ebola case” has been discarded by the authorities. While teachers in public schools are excited over the extension of holiday, many school owners and teachers in private schools welcome the September 22 resumption date. The private school owners case is not unconnected with the issue of money. They argued that there is no need keeping the children at home when there is no more fresh EVD case. A source, who did not want his name mentioned, said, “Some of the decision makers in the government are schools owners. They are the ones influencing the outside proprietors on how to pressurize government on the reversal of resumption date.” He added that because the proprietors who are not within government seek pleasure in money rather than the interest of the children, they had to concur. The Association of Proprietors of Private Schools in Ogun and Lagos States met recently saying it was not in support of the October 13 resumption date. Many parents think the statement speaks volume on the reason the Federal Government changed the date. Another argument of the private school owners is that since Lagos and Port-Harcourt are the only affected towns, why should other states not affected by the EVD get holiday extension? Speaking alongside this view, the Minister of Health, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu, said: “In the last one week, a number of rumours have been investigated and all the cases have turned out to be Ebola-negative. Specifically, the rumours in Kebbi, Kaduna, Lagos, Oyo, Ebonyi, Delta and Sokoto States, as well as the Federal Capital Territory have all been debunked.” Only last week, the ailing student of Obafemi Awolowo University, OAU, confessed to have had contact with the Port Harcourt doctor, Iyke Enemuo, who died of the EVD after he secretly treated an infected ECOWAS diplomat, Olu-Ibukun Koye, in a hotel. Although, the student is yet to be confirmed negative or positive, that singular contact with that Ebola patient in Port Harcourt has brought panic to the campus in Osun State. That is a typical example of how an infected child could bring EVD to school. Besides, the aforementioned example nullifies the argument that an Ebola free state will always remain free even if other states are not free. The National Union of Teachers NUT, while speaking through its President, Mr. Michael Alogba, faulted Federal Government’s decision to allow school to resume on September 22, saying, “Students should not resume until there is no single case of Ebola in the country. The Federal Government has done really well in combating the scourge but I would have expected them to stick to the October 13 resumption date because we are still at a point where we are worried about the outbreak in Rivers State and the spread to other states.” He noted that government should have remained more combative in dealing with this issue instead of succumbing to the pressure of powerful school proprietors, arguing: “For our children to go back to school while EVD cases are still being recorded in different states, government should post health officers to different states to keep the states under surveillance. How many schools have complied with the measures which are supposed to be in place before resumption? How many have the adequate number of equipment or trained personnel?” Even the Nigerian Medical Association NMA, the umbrella under which medical doctors operate, faulted the reversal of October 13, saying it would have preferred primary and secondary schools remain close till December or reopen early 2015. According to the NMA, if Ebola should spread to any school, it would “assume another dimension.” These same medical doctors are the experts whom the Federal Government rely on should there be any case of Ebola. Why then is the Federal Government insisting on September 22 after earlier agreed on October 13. In the meantime, the House of Representatives has asked its Committee on Education to interface with the Federal Ministry of Education on the u-turn made by the latter on the resumption date for schools in the country for the 2014/2015 academic session. Many parents, who lauded the Federal Government for initially shifting the date of resumption to October 13, spoke of its inconsistency when it suddenly reverted to September 22. Most of the parents who spoke to Sunday Vanguard said that if the Federal Government insisted on September 22, they will not release their children to school because their future was more important to them than the present. “What is three months to the life of my child,” a parent said. Another parent, who did not want his name in print, said, “Send your children to school at your own risk. Private school owners are only in this for the money. Well, they should be prepared to lose some. No sensible parents will agree that missing a term will leave no damage to the long term education of the child. Better alive and Ebola free than in school and be sorry.” On his part, another parent, Lawrence Eguakun, said, “Although I am medical doctor, I will not allow my children to attend school until we have zero case of Ebola”. Similarly, a matron in one of the General Hospitals who identified herself as Mrs Enibukun, said, “Parents are to be blamed if they release their children to schools at such a critical time like when new suspected cases of Ebola are springing up. I am aware the proprietors of private schools influenced this decision which is not in the best interest of our children.” Mrs Omorodion Joy Osariemen, a teacher in one of the private schools in Ikorodu, said: “As a teacher in a private school, I know I will not be paid if the holiday is extended to December, yet I am not disturbed because the lives of my children are more precious to me than the pay. If the Federal Government insists on the September 22 resumption, let them open schools but I will not allow my children to go”. - See more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2014/09/row-ebola-schools-resumption-fg-breach-global-norm/#sthash.FMup4WtK.dpuf