Medical practitioners in Nigeria and the Federal Government are feuding over whether or not the 2014-2015 academic year be postponed indefinitely
Whereas the government wants public schools re-opened on September 22, the Nigerian Medical Association prefers October 12 or not at all.
NMA National Secretary-General, Dr. Olawunmi Alayaki, urged that all schools ought to remain shut “till all those under surveillance for the Ebola Virus Disease” in the country had been certified free.
“We are not happy with this decision on the resumption of schools. Schools should be shut till the last suspected case or patient is certified free of the virus,” the NMA said.
Prior to the doctor’s statement Rivers State Health Commissioner Sampson Parker had announced an 18 month-old-baby as the latest victim of the marauding Ebola virus.
Left to the NMA alone resumption of schools could be shifted till December or early part of next year because if Ebola should spread to any school, it would “assume another dimension.”
It said, “We can shift the resumption date till next year or in the next three months if that is the time it will take. Government should have enough time to follow the standard procedure for containing the virus.
“Parents have no reason to be in a hurry because if Ebola should enter any school, it will assume another dimension. Children cannot survive isolation like adults.
“Nigeria is peculiar because of her large population and we should be pragmatic and proactive. It will not augur well for the country if we have another outbreak due to carelessness.”
The Lagos State NMA backs its parent body’s call on the Federal Government to postpone the resumption of schools till further notice.
Lagos NMA chairman Tope Ojo reiterated that many of the public and private schools in Nigeria “lacked basic hygiene and sanitary facilities” that could help prevent the spread of the EVD by pupils.
“It would not have cost the Federal Government anything to have waited till those under surveillance have completed the 21 days in all the states where they are being monitored.
“The government knows that it takes a longer time for children to get used to the idea of hygiene and sanitation. They are even more vulnerable because they would play with each other whether they are sick or not.
“How many children know that they should use hand sanitisers or avoid contact with anybody that has a fever?
“Waiting till October when at least the situations in Rivers and Lagos states would have been conclusively managed is another safety measure the government should have taken. These kids are not studying to get a degree, so we are sure it would not have affected schools’ curricula”, Dr Ojo stressed.
Dr Osahon Enebulele, immediate past NMA president wondered about the “safety parameters” government used in fixing September 22 as schools resumption date.
“The grouse of many parents with the resumption date stems from the fact that they are not convinced that schools have met the safety standards for the prevention of Ebola.
“If the government is on schools adhering to the date, it should begin now to check the sanitary facilities put in place by their proprietors to ensure the safety of pupils.
“We must know the parameters that the Federal Government used to arrive at the resumption date in the first place. Has the Federal Government carried out a safety assessment in registered schools in the country? There should be a checklist and only those who meet it should be certified fit to reopen.
“The minimum standard is that all schools should have a dispensary, a sick bay where sick children, especially those with fever, are properly managed and tested.”
Saying that he knew that such facilities were not available in many schools, he asked: So, why the rush for their resumption?”