The Katsina State government has declared that tertiary institutions in the state will not be allowed to reopen yet so as not to further spread the coronavirus disease.
This was made known by the State Commissioner for Information, Abdulakarim Sirika, while briefing newsmen on the latest developments on the war against COVID-19.
He noted that though some states have announced reopening of schools at various levels, Katsina State will not be reopening schools just yet.
He said: ”The institutions have students from different parts of the country who may be returning with different COVID-19 status, so allowing them to return may escalate the situation. So for now they are not reopening.”
A similar view was also shared by the Special Adviser to the Governor on Higher Education, Bashir Ruwangodia, who noted that the decision is the best given current circumstances as touching the effect of COVID-19 not only in the State but also in Nigeria and globally.
He said: ‘’Nigeria being part of the global community, has to respect all international as well as national protocols and the guidelines.
“The institutions are also part of the Nigerian system in terms of educational sector and looking about the guidelines by bodies like National universities Commission, NUC, World Health Organizations, WHO, National Center for Disease Control, NCDC as measures of preventing the Covid-19.”
Ruwangodia however added that tertiary institutions in the state will only be allowed to reopen once approval is given by the National University Commission (NUC) or the Federal Ministry of Education.
