The Commissioners of Education in 19 Northern States, have backed the Federal Government’s decision to suspend school reopening.
They made this known in a communiqué issued in Kaduna on Saturday, following a virtual meeting where various issues were discussed.
The communiqué was signed by the Commissioner of Education, Kaduna, Dr Shehu Makarfi, who is also the Chairman of the Northern States School Exchange Programme.
A total of 13 out of the 19 Commissioners attended.
They are: Kaduna, Bauchi, Gombe, Niger, Nasarawa, Adamawa, Taraba, Kogi, Kwara, Katsina, Kano, Borno and Jigawa.
According to them, keeping school shut down considering the spike in cases of COVID-19 across the country, is a good step in ensuring that children remain safe.
“We have, therefore, resolved that schools should be reopened only when it is safe to do so and when states have complied with the minimum COVID-19 safety protocols as outlined by the NCDC.
“We will also participate in the West African Senior School Certificate Examination and other examinations only when it is safe to reopen schools and when coordinated by the Federal Ministry of Education,” it read in part.