COVID-19 items have been supplied to FCT schools-Secretary UBEB
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Acting Secretary, Universal Basic Edutcation Board, UBEB in the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Abuja, Alhaji Hussaini Bako Kuje, has disclosed that government has supplied all the necessary items for COVID-19 to all Junior Secondary Schools in FCT.
Bako made this disclosure while responding to questions from Journalists in Abuja on the level of preparation before students of JSS 3 resumed for their examinations.
He said it is the resposibility of principals of these schools to put things in order and as well direct students to obey NCDC protocols for the purpose of mitigating against the spread of the deadly virus.
Speaking on the sitting arrangement in the class, the acting Secretary further revealed that average of 25 percent of the students are allowed in a class room so as to maintain social distance.
According to Bako, “Since it is only JSS 3 students that are resuming, there will be enough class rooms to accommodate the students to enable them maintain social distance in compliance with the NCDC protocols. The issue of over crowding will not even arise in the first place”
He asserted that the major reasons JSS 3 students have to resume is to enable them write second term examination as they will also be preparing for the JSS Certificate Examination, because it is part of their continuous assessment as required by Education Research Centre, ERC.
“That is why the government came up with a policy that only JSS 3 students should resume because they have exams to write. Before they write the JSS Certificate Exam, they need to write second term exam since they were unable to write because of COVID-19 pandemic.
“Education Research Centre, NRC who is organising their exams as in the case of FCT needs these assessments; first and second term examinations and that is why we said government should allow them to resume to write these exams” he explained.
Bako stated that the minimum qualification for teachers in JSS is the Nigerian Certificate of Education, NCE, saying that it is the standard minimum qualification approved by governent, not for FCT alone.
“It is not peculiar to FCT alone. It is all over the country, from primary to Junior Secondary schools, teaching minimum qualification is NCE” he said.
On fencing of JSS schools in FCT, the Acting Secretary of the Board stated that most of the schools have been fenced for security reason, adding that the board would continue the fencing gradually based on the intervention they receive from UBEC.
“You know, before you do anything, you have to plan, and depending on the intervention we are going to get from UBEC. It is good we fence all these schools for security reasons, that is why most of the schools were fenced, those that are yet to be fenced, we are going to do it” he said.