The Commissioner for Primary and Basic Education, Hon. Jamiu Alli-Balogun, has stated that not all primary and secondary schools in Lagos State will resume from the current mid-term cum Sallah break due to the outbreak of cholera in some parts of the state.
According to him, the Ministry will have to wait for an advisory from the Ministry of Health to determine the next course of action.
“Our schools are fully prepared for resumption. The necessary steps have been taken and we are on top of the situation. However, we are going to wait for the needed advisory from the Ministry of Health that is mapping out the areas affected by the outbreak of the disease.
“We hope to get the advisory later today and if the Ministry of Health tells us that going by their assessment of the situation across the state, they have found out some endemic areas where it would not be appropriate for schools to resume, schools won’t resume in such places. We cannot endanger the lives of our children.
“Later today (Tuesday) we will come out with the position of the government on the issue. If schools everywhere in the state are free to resume, no problem. The state government is not resting on its oars and has been taking steps to curb the outbreak of the disease,” he stated.
Alli-Balogun stated that the administration of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has made significant investments in education and will not allow anything to undermine those efforts.
Students in public and private schools across the state have been on break for one and a half weeks.
The first week was a midterm break, and the first two days of this week were public holidays to celebrate Sallah.
However, the United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) recently issued a warning that the government should guarantee that the current Cholera outbreak does not extend to the school environment.
On Lagos Island, which is also a highly populated location, residents are complaining about the lack of portable water to use for personal and household chores.