Ebola: Private schools demand children’s medical clearance

The National Association of Private School Proprietors, Kano State branch, has directed parents to bring medical clearance of their children to school authorities on resumption.

The President of the association, Dr Jibril Muhammad, gave the directive while briefing newsmen in Kano on Wednesday.

He said the decision was taken at the executive meeting of the association as part of measures to curtail the spread of the Ebola virus among school children.

According to him, all private schools in the state have been instructed to resume on September 22.

He said the schools had also been instructed to provide sanitisers, bucket of water and soap in every class for children to wash their hands as preventive measure.

Muhammad said school proprietors had also been instructed not to overcrowd classrooms and to refer children to competent medical centres in case of any suspicious illness.

He added that the call for the extension of resumption date of September 22 would be a great disservice to education and the nation in general.

Muhammad, who described the long holidays as uncalled for, attributed the mass failure in WAEC examination to such holidays.

He warned the National Assembly against any attempt to extend the resumption date as it would not augur well for the country.

He said, “All private schools are expected to extend their closing time by an hour to make up for the lost time.

“We are also calling on the Federal Government to redeem its pledge of providing schools with thermometers, while state governments train teachers on how to handle Ebola cases.”