KWARA GOVT. GIVES UPDATE ON SCHOOL REOPENING (DETAILS) 

A phone interview session with the Commissioner for Tertiary Education in Kwara State. The presenter Oluwasegun Taiwo phoned her to ask questions.

Then, we’re happy to have them back as well but we need to ensure that the right thing are put in place in those Institution. So, we all scattered in Institutions in Kwara Central Senatorial District yesterday, some went to Kwara Northern Senatorial District and some of my team also went to Kwara South just to fast track the whole process.

We know our students are in a hurry to resume. So, I can tell you that tentatively in two weeks time, our Institutions in the state will be opened.

Considering the population of Government-owned Institutions in the State, how has your Ministry been ensuring compliance with the NCDC and the PTF protocols?

Yes, that’s the reason we’re going out to ensure those measures are reflected in our Institutions and I can tell you that over 80% have done very well from what we did yesterday, from the Institutions we visited yesterday. We’ve a few that haven’t but we’ve given them a few days to put those things in place so that we can return to check but we’re on our way this morning as well just to ensure that the other Institutions as well have put the necessary measures in place because we were also told yesterday when we met with the Head of the Academic Planning so that we can also start to prepare for the Institutions that have examinations, let the Timetable be ready.

We also let them know that the first week of resumption shouldn’t be when the exam will kick off. They’ve to do some sorts of revision because that’s what the students told us that they need a few weeks to revise when they resume school.

So, those things are in place and ready in those Institutions. Then, also we met with Technical Committee of COVID-19 to ensure we gave them a list of what we want to see that they’ve to put in place in their Institutions. So far so good from what we saw yesterday, we’ve recorded improvements that some of them have really complied to the COVID-19 Directives.

Let’s talk about the final year students in Universities and Polytechnics in the state, is there certainty for them to be deployed for the NYSC Programme this year as the National University Commission has directed that Universities must under no circumstances violate the full cycle of the semester system?

Well, for NYSC, I wouldn’t be able to talk about that like you know it’s not under my purview. That what I know is for our Institutions first thing first. So, when we resume, definitely the ones that have to do their exams will go back to start to writing their exams after two weeks of revision. Then, we take it from there, the whole idea is just to resume our schools first then, other things will follow.

How’s your Ministry influence for good Educational System so that our Institutions in the State can meet up with their counterparts in the country?

Well, I can tell you that we’ve done a lot since the beginning of this Administration like you’re aware if you check the achievements in the last one year.

So, we’re paying attention to qualitative teaching and learning in our Institutions for those that need to be Accredited, we don’t joke with that, we’ll provide the form for them so that we’ll Accredit some of their Programmes that need to be Accredited and also we ensure that the basic things that they need in terms of infrastructural facilities and instructional materials are provided as at when due. So, basically, we’re ensuring that quality is the order of the day in our Institutions and we’ll continue to do that as long as we care.

Hajiyya Saadatu Modibu-Kawu
Kwara State Commissioner for Education.