COVID-19: PAN urges continued closure of schools until conditions are safe

The Paediatric Association of Nigeria (PAN) has declared its support for the continued closure of Nigerian schools urging that schools should remain closed until conditions are safe.

The association gave the minimum criterion for considering the reopening of schools in Nigeria as a “steady and consistent decline in the spread of COVID-19 in most parts of the country. It is then and only then, we believe, that the other criteria as laid down by the Guidelines for Schools and Learning Facilities Reopening after COVID-19 Pandemic Closures can now be considered”.

In a statement issued in Port Harcourt and signed by its National President, Prof. Edward Alikor, the Paediatricians expressed the belief that the safest place for children at this time is at home under the care of their parents.

“Many parents now have to undertake the extra duty of controlling, protecting and (in some cases) supervising the academic work of their children, duties which have traditionally been shared with teachers and school administrators. PAN encourages these and would want our parents to regard their sacrifices, not just as a duty to their families but as a national duty at this time of war with Coronavirus”, PAN stated.

Prof. Alikor said that PAN’s position was based on the fact that these scientific facts on the coronavirus pandemic were rapidly evolving and changing; the trend in the incidence of Covid-19 infection in Nigeria and the recognition that children need structured school environment for optimal learning and realization of their full potentials.

Other observations by PAN include; that the capacity of the Nigerian health system to quickly respond to an unexpected increase in the incidence of Covid-19;  the experiences of other countries where reopening of schools have recently been tried and that figures from Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), showed an exponential rise in Covid-19 incidence and deaths adding that it appeared that Nigeria has not reached its peak incidence of the pandemic, among others.

“Paediatric Association of Nigeria (PAN) has followed with concern the current debate in the public space on the advisability or otherwise of reopening schools in Nigeria at this time of Covid-19 pandemic, especially the Basic and Secondary schools.

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“PAN notes the announcement on 2nd July of the planned opening of schools in August 2020 and the reversal of this decision by the Honorable Minister of Education on 9th July 2020.

“This was quickly followed by the recent release of the ‘Guidelines for Schools and Learning Facilities Reopening after Covid-19 Pandemic Closures’, published by the Federal Ministry of Education on 13th July 2020.

“Only three days ago, it was reported that the Minister of State for Education, Mr Chukwuemeka Nwajuiba, has requested the proprietors of schools in Nigeria ‘to undertake self-assessment and send feedback to state ministries of education not later than 29th July 2020’. The Minister was reported to have said that the request is coming just as Nigeria settles with four countries on a new date for the suspended West African Secondary School Certificate Examinations (WASSCE).

“Furthermore, a senior official of Federal Ministry of Education was also reported as saying that, ‘barring any sudden change in plans, schools in Nigeria would reopen in September 2020’.

“As a professional association whose fundamental objective is to ‘actively seek the well-being of children and ensure that their right to quality health care is protected’, Paediatric Association of Nigeria views it as a professional responsibility to publicly express its opinion in the ongoing national discourse.

“PAN observes, with surprise, the absence of public health physicians, infectious disease experts and other child and adolescent healthcare specialists amongst the stakeholders listed as having been consulted in arriving at the decision to possibly reopen schools in September 2020. We urge that this error be corrected to enable the decision-makers to arrive at a fact-oriented, balanced and independent decision on such an important issue bordering on the health of our children”.

NIGERIAN TRIBUNE