Parents demand resumption of school, WASSCE, to meet FG on Monday

The National Parents Teachers’ Association of Nigeria has broken its silence, stating it is confused about the proclamation by the Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, that schoolchildren nationwide would not be allowed to sit the West African Senior School Certificate Examination slated for August 4 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The NAPTAN National President, Alhaji Haruna Danjuma, in an interview with our correspondent on Thursday, said the association had resolved to meet Adamu by Monday to seek an amicable solution.

NAPTAN had in the last week of May called on the government to reopen schools nationwide “to pupils who will be sitting external examinations of the West African Examinations Council and the National Examinations Council.”

The association said parents had resolved to work together with schools to put measures in place such as the provision of face masks, handwashing containers and hand sanitisers to minimise the risks of virus contraction by the pupils.

Reacting to Adamu’s directive that pupils would not be able to sit the WASSCE this year, Danjuma said parents were confused and that they would seek an audience with the government on the matter.

He said, “Surprisingly, we heard from the Federal Ministry of Education that the government has suspended the reopening of schools. This is very confusing; we don’t know what to do. We are waiting for whatever will come after this.

“On our side at NAPTAN, we are planning to go to the ministry and meet with the minister or his representatives to hear from them. It should be on Monday.”

The Minister of State for Education, Emeka Nwajiuba, had during the press briefing by the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 last Monday announced that the 2020 WASSCE conducted by WAEC would hold between August 4 and September 5.

But Adamu said on Wednesday that all federal schools would remain closed until it was safe to reopen them. He also urged state governments that had announced school resumption plans to rescind such.