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Resumption: Non Availability Of Ebola Testing Kits In Kaduna Schools

All public and private schools in Kaduna State on Monday resumed for another academic session in compliance with the Federal Government’s directive that schools should … Continue reading Resumption: Non Availability Of Ebola Testing Kits In Kaduna Schools


Resumption

ResumptionAll public and private schools in Kaduna State on Monday resumed for another academic session in compliance with the Federal Government’s directive that schools should re-open for classes on September 22.

Although the State Government on Saturday promised to provide Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) test kits in public and private schools ahead of the September 22 resumption date, Channels TV correspondent who visited some public and private schools in the state capital reports that majority of them are yet to get the kits, only few schools got the thermometer testing kit and sanitisers.

At Government Day Secondary School Doka, in Kaduna North Local government area, two thermometers were provided for testing the temperature of returning students and teachers, while the school management said that it was yet to get the hand washing basins, sanitisers and hand gloves.

It was also a similar scenario at some other private schools visited by Channels Television.

The September 22 resumption date, as directed by the Federal Government, had generated arguments with the leadership of Nigerian Union of Teachers which demanded that government must provide all the necessary equipment on ground to ensure their safety and the students’ before they would resume for classes.

Their fear had been to avoid being infected with the Ebola virus disease. To douse this fear, the Kaduna State Government assured the teachers that 6,000 thermometers, sanitisers and hand gloves had been procured by the state Ministry of Education for onward distribution to the over 6,000 schools across the state.

However, the non availability of these testing kits in most of the schools has raised questions on the safety of the students and teachers who have already resumed for classes without being tested.

For example, at a particular school, pupils were asked to wash their hands inside a small bowl, without sanitisers. The proprietor, however, promised to get the items ready before the close of work, with other private school owners also saying they would go ahead to procure the testing kits instead of waiting endlessly for government.

While the State Government said it has spent a whooping N116 million for the purchase of the Ebola testing kits, many are asking the government to ensure that these kits reach all the schools before the second day of resumption to avoid any outbreak of the disease in the state.