The House of Representatives has asked the Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu, to ensure that all schools in the country, whether public or private are fumigated before they are reopened.

They also urged the Minister to reach students in the rural areas with the online teaching which was recently introduced to keep the students busy.

The Chairman House Committee on Education, Hon. Julius Ihonvbere, in a letter to the Minister, said all schools (public and private), should sensitize their pupils/students adequately on the dangers of COVID-19 and its attendant consequences and possible ways of protecting themselves from being infected.

The House said the resolutions reached should be incorporated into plans by the Ministry before re-opening the schools in order to “prevent our pupils/students from being infected with the virus”.

The House said further “we want to further direct the management of schools to make provision for water/borehole with a view to promoting washing of hands and personal hygiene among the pupils. Clear instruction should be issued to schools to avoid all contact sports till further notice. For the time being, all social/extra-curricular events should be suspended. These should include excursions, birthday celebrations.

“Disinfection of shoes and feet should be strongly encouraged for each classroom as done in poultry pens with appropriate non- corrosive solution. Emphasis should be placed on the minimum number of pupils/students in a class in strict adherence to social distancing procedure/ prescriptions. There should be procurement of infrared thermometers, face masks and hand sanitisers for pupils and Teacher’s use before entering School.”