Non-academic staff and teachers of various public, private, and community primary and secondary schools have enforced the COVID-19 safety protocols among the returning students and pupils.

The enforcement is coming as schools across the 34 Local Government Areas of the state reopen today based on the state government directives which coincides with the ‘World Teachers Day’.

In a visit to a cross-section of some schools operating in the state capital, Channels Television gathered that academic activities are being conducted inline with safety protocols.

It’s barely one day after the Katsina State Environmental Protection Agency, SEPA fumigated all the primary and secondary schools across the 34 Local Government Areas of the state, in preparatory to safe schools reopening, academic activities have come back to life.

In a visit to three of the schools operating in the state capital by Channels Television, academic activities are captured to have been conducted under strict adherence to COVID-19 safety protocols.

In an interview with the Head Teacher of Gobarau Academy, Katsina State, Rukiye Salih Yusuf told Channels Television that several measures have been put in place in the school to observe the COVID 19 protocols.

She said “Before entering, students must wash their hands with their body temperature taken and parents have been contacted before now that every child must come along with Facemasks. We follow the state government directives to introduce a shifting strategy where primary one to three students will come in the morning to 12:30 with the second shift begins from 12:30 to 5:30 for primary four and five, the same thing with JSS 1 to 3 as well as SS1 to 3 students”.

The Education Secretary of the Katsina Local Government Authority, Mannir Yahayya is here at Isah Kaita Science Model Primary School to monitor how things are going on for day 1 opening of the schools in the state. And he is impressed with the school situation.

In the meantime, the Coordinator of the Fatima Shema Primary School, Binta Mainasara Bugaje maintained that the school management has done all the necessary plans even before the school reopening.

“We were given lectures and well trained during a workshop conducted in respect of the COVID 19 protocols. We have proper sitting arrangements to ensure social distancing between the Pupils”. She noted.

Over the weekend, the state governor’s wife, Hadiza Masari had produced and distributed over a million free washable and user friendly facemasks for students and pupils returning to school today.

The motive was part of measures to curtail the spread of COVID-19 Pandemic in the state.

Speaking at the Katsina Multipurpose Women Center, Masari observed that the third phase distribution of free facemasks is imperative as the global challenge posed by the COVID-19 Pandemic calls for support and cooperation of all.

She urged parents and teachers to ensure that students strictly comply with the protocols of handwashing and wearing of Facemasks at all times while within the school premises so that spread of the virus will be curtailed.

She further seized the moment to remind parents, particularly mothers that there is yet no cure found for Coronavirus, describing facemasks as the most important remedies for contracting and spreading the disease.

As of today, Katsina State has recorded a total of 884 confirmed cases, 19, 24 deaths, and discharged 841 with 19 patients currently on admission.