BACK TO SCH CAMPAIGN:UNICEF TASK ESUBEB/FG ON TRANSPARENCY IN SCH FEEDING PROG. IMPLEMENTATION

REPORTER: EMEFIENA OKONKWO

The Executive Chairman, Enugu State Universal Basic Education Board (ENSUBEB), Chief Ikeje Asogwa, says Enugu State government is committed to the safety and wellbeing of pupils and teachers in the state.

Chief Asogwa made this known during the monitoring of the compliance of back to school campaign of ENSUBEB, in collaboration with United Nations Children’s Fund, (UNICEF), and the Global Partnership in Education (GPE) in Aninri and Isi-uzo Local Government Areas.

The ENSUBEB boss, while commending the school children for their mass return to schools, encouraged them as well as their teachers and other members of staff to continue to wash their hands with soap, as well as apply alcohol based hand sanitizers.

Chief Asogwa equally urged the pupils and their teachers to continue to wear face masks and maintain social distancing.

In a message to the occassion, the Chief, UNICEF, Enugu Field Office, Dr. Ibrahim Conteh, while expressing happiness with the mass return of pupils to schools, encouraged the federal and state governments to ensure that the school feeding programme was transparently and adequately implemented.

Dr. Conteh noted that apart from the COVID-19 pandemic, poverty and extreme hunger were other factors that caused low school enrolment and withdrawals from school in sub-sahara Africa.

Dr. Conteh advised the teachers and school administrators to ensure that they were vacinated against Coronavirus, especialy with the outbreak of highly mutating variants of the virus.

A teacher from Central School Mpu, Aninri Local Government Area, Mr. Sunday Onowu, some parents and community leaders thanked ENSUBEB, UNICEF and GPE for their comittment to safety in schools.

Earlier in a remark during the visit to the schools, the ENSUBEB DESK Officer at UNICEF, Enugu Field Office, Ms. Caroline Chigbo commended the pupils and their teachers for their turnout in their respective schools, urging them to be committed to academic excellence.