EBONYI TO RESUME SCHOOLS OCT 5 WITH STAGGERED TIMETABLE

Reporter : AMECHI ODO

Ebonyi State Government has approved October 5, 2020 as date for the resumption of all categories of schools except Nursery, after a long period of shut down orchestrated by COVID-19 pandemic. This was one of the decisions reached at this week’s state Executive Council meeting held at Government House Abakaliki.

Briefing journalists, the State Commissioner for Education, Dr. Onyebuchi Chima, explained that the Council resolved that classes would be staggered to enable pupils and students maintain physical distancing as required by COVID-19 protocol. He noted that classes one to three would be resuming by 8am and dismiss by Noon while classes four to six would resume by 12:15pm and dismiss by 4:15pm.

Dr. Chima stated that the same staggering process would apply to Secondary Schools while Tertiary Institutions would be allowed to work out their mode of operation. The State Commissioner for Information, Mr. Uchenna Orji, said that the state government also resolved to suspend demolition of Houses at Ogbe Hausa, defunct Abakpa Market and Ekwulumili residential areas.

He explained that the decision was taken following public outcry over the exercise. The State Commissioner for Justice and Attorney General, Mr. Cletus Ofoke, told journalists that the state government had assigned portfolios to newly appointed Special Assistants and deployed some Principal Officers to monitor school resumption and workers attendance in Local Government Areas across the state.

Mr. Ofoke added that the State Executive Council directed security agencies to fish out the killers of a herder in Ohaozara Local Government Area while leaders of the affected community should submit themselves for further investigations.