The Lagos State Chairman of the Nigeria Union of Teachers, Mr. Adesegun Raheem, has said that although teachers in the state are ready to resume school on Monday, they will not be allowed to resume until their requirements are met.
He spoke at a one day sensitization programme for principals and head teachers of public primary and secondary schools in Lagos on prevention of Ebola Virus Disease, organized by the state Ministry of Education in collaboration with the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB).
He said: “Health experts say that something must be put in place as preventive measures before we can go back to school, but the Lagos State Government apart from the awareness programme going on right now and provision of water in 600 schools out of the 1,007 primary schools and 668 secondary schools has not done any other thing.”
He listed things that should be in place as hand gloves for teaching and non-teaching staff, infrared thermo-scanner for the school, hand sanitizers, running water (not washing hands basin) and creating awareness.
“It is based on this that NUT is saying that it is better we die quickly than slowly and it is better a funeral is held in our honour than for us to be cremated. We give the government from Monday to provide all we asked for if not we will not resume. Let us see these things in our school and we will resume,” he said.
Asked if they would not consider the appeal of President Jonathan and return to schools, he said, “the President did not appeal. He only gave reasons why schools must resume and the reasons he gave was that those that will be traveling out of the country will be stigmatized, and that we should resume so that Nigeria will be given a good name, forgetting that majority of our teachers have not traveled out of the country before.
“If American can give the kind of money they gave to us to fight the disease, I wonder why Nigeria will not put measures in place to prevent the disease.”
