By Rafiu Ajakaye
LAGOS
Schools remained closed across most of Nigeria's 36 states on Monday, partly to allow them to put adequate measures in place to halt the spread of Ebola, which has already claimed the lives of at least seven Nigerians.
Some states, however, commenced classes, as directed by the central government, which insists that Nigeria is free of the deadly virus and has warned that delaying the school year could lead to unwarranted panic.
Schools have reopened in Kaduna, the only northwestern state to have begun the new academic year.
Schools in Jigawa, Katsina, Sokoto, Kano and Zamfara states – all in the north – will not open their doors until after the Muslim Eid al-Adha holiday, which will likely fall on October 5.
Schools in the southeastern Enugu, Imo, Anambra and Abia states, meanwhile, have resumed classes.
Ebonyi, another state in the region, has delayed the start of the school year to October.
There is currently no schooling in the oil-rich Rivers State in the south, which has recorded at least three confirmed Ebola cases – two of whom have since succumbed to the virus.
Nigeria's first Ebola case came to light in Lagos after an infected Liberian, Patrick Sawyer, flew into the county and later died of the disease.
Of the country's 19 confirmed Ebola cases, at least seven Nigerians have died – all of whom had come in contact with Sawyer.
The remaining cases survived the disease.
No one is currently under observation for the virus, according to Nigerian health authorities.
Lagos' southwestern neighbors – Osun, Oyo, Ekiti, Ogun and Ondo states – all earlier postponed resuming the school year for the same reasons.
The predominantly Muslim states of northern Nigeria have also postponed classes until after the upcoming Eid holiday.
-No teachers-
Schools in Nigeria's southwest had earlier postponed classes to allow them to take precautionary measures against the deadly virus.
On Sunday night, the Lagos state government – which had earlier announced plans to resume classes on Monday – buckled under pressure from teachers and other pressure groups and decided to delay the move.
Nor are schools opening in central Nigeria, particularly in Kwara and Benue states, due to Ebola fears.
In Nigeria, primary and secondary education is essentially under the jurisdiction of the state governments, except special ones called "unity schools."
But even in states where school has reopened, teachers adhered to directives not to resume class.
"Our directive to our members still stands until we are certain that measures to protect them and their students against the virus have been put in place," Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) President Michael Olukoya told AA on Monday morning.
"That has not been done at the moment," he said.
Inaugurated in 1931, the NUT is an umbrella body for all teachers in Nigeria. It boasts over 150,000 members nationwide, not including teachers in private schools, according to various estimates.
While unity shools, along with 104 federal government secondary schools across Nigeria, will resume on Monday, members of the Federal Government College Teachers Association (FGCTA) will not.
"We have notified parents not to bring their children to schools until we are paid our promotion and training allowances, which totaled 1.8 billion naira," FGCTA President Tahir Mahmoud told AA.
The FGCTA is an umbrella body for teachers at the nation's unity schools.
www.aa.com.tr/en
