The National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools in Oyo State has commenced a training the trainers initiative on adhering to safety protocols ahead of the reopening of schools.
The President of NAPPS, Kayode Adeyemi, made this known to the News Agency of Nigeria on Thursday in Ibadan.
Adeyemi, who was part of the training initiative organised by the state on Tuesday, said the association would in turn train private schools owners to meet government’s requirements for resumption.
He said: “I was part of the programme on Tuesday and we are facilitating the training for all private schools proprietors across the state, beginning from today.
“The training continues from Thursday all through next week because we are embracing social distancing measures and other safety protocols by NCDC.
“In all, the training is designed to train the trainers with the capacity of 5,000 private school owners who will in turn train their principals, teachers and staff in their respective schools.
“When you look at the spiral effect of the training, you may be looking at 20,000 to 30,000 people from the private schools sector that will participate.”
Prof. Clement Kolawole, the Chairman, School Governing Board of Estate High School, Basorun, Ibadan, commended the state government for providing the guidelines on school resumption for safety reasons.
Kolawole said the government was in a position to modify requirements for reopening schools in spite of the increase in the number of cases recorded in the state.
He said: “The guidelines that the government just released are a follow-up to that.
“The steps by the government to ensure that teachers and pupils are safe when they return to school is part of the precautionary measures taken to prevent a further escalation of the pandemic.
“I commend the initiatives because we have to find a creative way of reopening schools for our children whose future should not be jeopardised by our helplessness because of the pandemic.
“I advice that the schools should be open to further reappraisal on a regular basis.”
Tojuade Adedoyin, the Chairman of the National Union of Teachers in the state, said the union would study government’s guidelines and make its position known soon.
NAN.