COVID-19: Why Nigerian Schools May Not Be Ready For Resumption Till 2021

May 29, 2020 2:56 PM

On Wednesday, May 27, Boss Mustapha who is the secretary to the government of the federation and the chairman of the presidential task force on COVID-19 said all hands are on deck to open schools for resumption,

He said: “We… urge states, local governments, proprietors and all other stakeholders to begin to take steps that will facilitate an early and safe reopening.”

Nigerian schools from primary to tertiary level have been shut down since March 19 as a result of the spread of the novel Coronavirus. More than two months after, the country is already speaking about the possibility of resumption.

Realistically, Nigerian schools are not and should not resume until 2021. If there is one place were Nigerians from different backgrounds, ethnicity, orientation, social class and different states converge, it is in tertiary institutions particularly federal institutions.

So far, Nigeria has not been able to contain the spread of COVID-19. The early attempt at contract tracing was not effective because by the rime someone who has had contact with a COVID-19 patient is discovered, the person has probably infected more people. Also, the shutting down of activities and lockdown in Lagos, Abuja and Ogun states did little to stem the tide of the virus as close to 9000 cases have been confirmed by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control.

In developed countries which sadly Nigeria is not, the COVID-19 outbreak has only brought minimal inconvenience for schools as classroom activities have been transferred to homes and lectures are being delivered in real time online with full participation of students. This is made possible as a result of access to computer equipment, strong internet access and stable electricity. Thus, students are able to continue their academic activities from proxy.

In Nigeria however, access to computer equipment is still a problem for those in the middle and lower class. Internet access is not only expensive for audio-visual real time delivery but also very poor. Electricity has always been a big problem in Nigeria so reliability in most households for steady supply of power is on generators. Thus, with the outbreak of COVID-19, schools have practically shut down.

Realistically, resumption of schools in Nigeria is hinged on two possible reasons: Discovery of a vaccine or reduction in number of cases. In the case of a vaccine, Nigeria doesn’t seem to be doing much research in finding one as hope lies in the hands of western researchers. If a vaccine is found within a year, expert say it would be the first time one is found for a major disease outbreak. Reduction in number of confirmed COVIS-19 cases also looks more like a dream as numbers of cases continue to rise. There are also concerns that Nigeria has more COVID-19 cases than the ones officially confirmed due to low number of testing.

Opening schools now particularly tertiary institutions without vaccine or significant reduction in number of cases would only endanger lives of students and the communities were these schools are located. Take for instance Obafemi Awolowo University which is located in Ife, Osun state. The state has 44 confirmed cases of COVID-19. Being a federal institutions means it has students from all over the states some of which have more confirmed cases. Imagine a student living in Lagos that has more than 4000 confirmed cases returning to school. In a short period, the institution may become a hotbed for the spread of the virus. Schools also do not have the capacity to monitor activities of students particularly in their hostels both within the institutions and those staying outside campus.

2021 might seem like a long time but with the number of confirmed cases and no vaccine discovered yet, students may end up spending the equivalent of a whole session at home.