COVID-19: Katsina Govt Directs Tertiary Institutions Not To Reopen

The Katsina State Government has directed tertiary institutions in the state not to reopen as it awaits complete guidelines from the relevant bodies.

The decision taken is in line with national and global protocols and part of measures to mitigate the negative effect and further spike of Coronavirus not only in the institutions but the state in general.

The Special Advisor to the state government on higher education, Dr. Bashir Ruwan_Godiya disclosed this in an exclusive interview with Channels Television on Thursday.

He said the state government is still waiting for complete guidelines from the World Health Organizations, National Center for Disease Control, National Universities Commission, and Federal Ministry of Education as measures of preventing the COVID-19 Pandemic.

“We are making headway in terms of making arrangements to see that in the nearest possible future we do all things humanly possible to ensure that we reopen the institutions”.

Regarding the effect of Coronavirus on tertiary education in the state and the country in general, Ruwan Godiya observed that it’s going to affect the graduation date of the students, the quality of teaching and learning in the schools as well as the kind of concern given by parents to their wards after the pandemic is eradicated.

According to him, the closure of schools has led to some social vices by the students as they been staying idle in their homes for the past six months, emphasizing the need for people especially the parents to further be patient.

He further expressed readiness of the state government to reopen tertiary institutions once it receives guidelines from the National University Commission (NUC) or the Federal Ministry of Education.

He stated that “Nigeria being part of the global community, has to respect all international as well as national protocols and the guidelines”.

On his part, the Branch Chairperson of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU at the Umaru Musa ‘Yaradu’a University Katsina, Ibrahim Sani Kankara described the detective given by the state government as a welcome development which he believed is actually inline with the Union’s position.

He said ” For the schools to reopen, it has to be in conformity with the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, knowing fully of the situation in the lecture rooms and halls as well as the laboratories.

“To open the University without portable water supply in our hostels will expose students to certain dangers which is lacking in most of the University campuses”. Kankara noted.

As of Wednesday, September 16th, 2020, Katsina State recorded a total of 843 confirmed cases of COVID-19, with 457 patients have so far discharged as well as 362 patients on admission with 24 deaths.

It’s observed that the institutions in the state have students from different parts of the country who may be returning with different COVID-19 status, so allowing them to return may worsen the situation.