THE Lagos State Ministry of Education has released the approved Lagos State School Calendar for the Year 2020/2021 session.
According to the time-table, public and private schools below tertiary level will resume the first term academic activities on Monday, September 21, 2020 and end on Friday, December 18, 2020. The second term starts on Monday, January 4, 2021 and runs until Friday, April 16, 2021, while students will resume for third term on Tuesday, May 4, 2021 and close on Friday, August 6, 2021.
The Director-General, Office of Education Quality Assurance, Mrs Abiola Seriki-Ayeni, enjoined all public and private schools in Lagos State to adhere strictly to the harmonised school calendar, urging school leaders to have qualitative health and safety plans that will help protect students, teachers and workers as schools reopen.
Mrs Seriki-Ayeni said: “It is not enough to reopen but to stay open since some schools all over the world had to shut down after reopening due to a spike in the pandemic."
She also added: "All schools must, therefore, make efforts to comply with these requirements, not just for the improvement of the overall school operations, but for the safe reopening of academic activities to support the Lagos State Government's quest for a full return."
While advising schools to have flexible teaching and learning plans, where students and teachers who feel sick can teach or learn from home via available online platforms, Seriki-Ayeni said schools must strive to avoid any COVID-19 infection among all students and staff.
The Director-General further advised that teachers, students and visitors must wear facemasks at all times, observe physical distancing, embrace regular handwashing with soap under running water and maintain a high standard of personal hygiene within the school premises.
She emphasised that schools must have an isolation/holding bay to care for medical emergencies should anyone come up with symptoms such as cough, headache, catarrh, difficulty in breathing, sneezing and fever.
Seriki-Ayeni also stated further that measures put in place by the government include online registration of public and private schools in Lagos State with the OEQA, taking a School Self-Risk Assessment as well as undergoing an online training course in order to obtain the reopening clearance for academic activities on the OEQA website: www.oeqalagos.com.
Noting that the registration exercise will help the Office to determine the level of preparedness as well as guide schools on conditions for a safe reopening, she implored school leaders to embrace new learning styles like outdoor classes, staggered attendance, platooning or alternative attendance, among others, in collaboration with parents to foster a safe and secure environment.