FG not sincere on Oct 12 schools re-opening – ERC

The Education Rights Campaign (ERC) on Friday declared that the federal government was not sincere with the October 12 re-opening of schools across the country.

ERC made the declaration in a statement issued in Ibadan by its deputy national coordinator, Ogunjimi Isaac and acting national mobilisation officer, Comrade Adaramoye Michael.

It noted that the on-going strikes by the Senior Staff Union of Nigerian Universities (SSANU); the Non Academic Staff Union (NASU) and Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) clearly showed "this as the strikes borders on issues of staff welfare, funding and infrastructures in the nation's tertiary institutions."

"We in the ERC believe many provisions that could have prevented the exposure of the mass of students and staff to coronavirus such as renovation and building of lecture theatres and other facilities that could ensure that physical distancing is observed have mostly not been put in place," the statement read in part.

It added: "If a government can fail to fulfil collective bargaining agreements with workers, how can such government be trusted to guarantee the health and safety of students if schools reopen in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic? We therefore call on the mass of Nigerian students to unite with SSANU, NASU and ASUU to compel government to meet their demands as part of the preconditions for school reopening."
Source: blueprint