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Mr. Patrick Ukah, Basic and Secondary Education Commissioner, Delta State.

By Magnus Emuji

Proprietors of private schools in Delta state have been told to always sustain the protection of the health of the children in their various schools.

Delta State Commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education, Mr. Patrick Ukah, who made the call in Asaba on Tuesday (20/10/2020) during a meeting with the association of private school owners made up of the National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools (NAPPS), Organisation of School Owners of Nigeria (OSON) and the Association of Private School Owners (APSON), Delta State Chapters, described them as key players in the policy direction of the present administration towards improving the education sector.

He lauded them for their cooperation at all times, especially during the lockdown occasioned by the global outbreak of Covid-19 and their compliance with the phased resumption of schools, adding that it was heartwarming that no school in the state has recorded the Covid-19 infection.

While saying that the purpose of the meeting was to appeal to them to prevail on their members not to violate the National Center for Disease Control (NCDC) directives on Covid-19 protocols, Mr. Ukah gave assurance that in no distant time nursery school pupils would be allowed to resume in accordance with the policy of the state government on phased resumption of schools.

He said that stakeholders in education would monitor the level of compliance by schools, particularly private school proprietors to the directive on Covid-19 protocols for the overall interest of the health of the children and take a definite decision to review the resumption date for pupils in nursery classes sooner than the earlier scheduled date of January 2021.

The Basic and Secondary Education Commissioner, who noted that his ministry would continue to operate open door policy, stressed the need for the various associations of private school owners to shun unnecessary conflicts with one another and stated that the state government would always provide an enabling environment for them to operate.

Mr. Ukah reiterated that his ministry would not charge them above the approved levies by the state government and urged them to contribute their quota in partnering with the Okowa administration to improve the standard of education in the state.