Lagos adopts staggering classes as schools reopen fully on Monday

All classes from nursery to senior secondary schools in Lagos public schools will reopen for academic activities on Monday.

By this development, all pupils and students at these levels of education both in public and private schools in the state are expected to be in class, which will be six months after general school closure due to COVID-19 pandemic.

It will be recalled that all students in private schools from primary to secondary levels and those in junior secondary school class 3 and senior secondary school class 2 in public schools in the state had already commenced academic activities about a month ago.

However, unlike the private schools where all students go to school on daily basis from Monday to Friday because of their fewer number, their mates in public schools will go because of their huge number on staggering arrangement.

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The Head of Public Affairs of the state’s ministry of education, Mr Kayode Abayomi, said this on Sunday in an exclusive interview with Tribune Online.

He said the staggering arrangement meant that students would be divided into two groups with one set across classes come to class on particular days of the week while the rest would come on the remaining days, excluding weekends for both groups.

He said but all students in public schools were expected to be in school first today while their headteachers or principals as applicable would address them on the details of the arrangement and how to remain safe in and outside school.

But explaining the arrangement and reasons for adopting the style, the state’s chairman of Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT), Mr Adedoyin Adesina, told Tribune Online in a separate interview that the students are already grouped based on their classes into two, named Achievers Group and the Shine Group.

He explained that one of the group would come to school on Mondays and Wednesdays while the other group would come on Tuesdays and Thursdays and both groups would come on Fridays with each spending about two and half hours in an alternate way.

He said the essence was to have few numbers of students that would not be more than 30 maximum in each class at a time so as to prevent crowded classrooms and possible spread of covid-19 among students and the teachers.

While noting that the students would also complement their studies with online learning, he said the arrangement would last till when it is safe to have all the students coming to schools every day.

He, however, said the teachers had prepared to sacrifice their time and energy so as to make up for the lost time.

NIGERIAN TRIBUNE