Lagos State Seals 10 Private Schools for Flouting Lockdown Directive

Lagos State Government has sealed ten private schools for flouting the lockdown directive issued to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

This was disclosed on Friday July 3, 2020, by the Director-General, Office of Education Quality Assurance, Lagos State, Mrs. Abiola Seriki-Ayeni, during the monitoring of private schools compliance with the lockdown directive.

Mrs Seriki-Ayeni stated that a large number of private schools visited across the state complied, but those who did not comply were sealed.

She said they were holding lessons for their a large group of students within the school premises, disregarding the social distancing order.

She added that the exercise would continue across all the education districts in the state to make sure all schools comply with the government order and discourage the nonchalant attitude of some schools to the directive.

“No doubt, COVID-19 has had a negative effect on our schools but we want students to come out stronger and better.

“We want to make sure schools are closed. We also want to make sure schools are adhering to the closure directive since the number of COVID-19 infections has increased dramatically over time,” Mrs Seriki-Ayeni said.

She warned that any school where teaching and learning is ongoing while trying to beat government scrutiny without concern for the health and safety of learners would be sealed.

Mrs Seriki-Ayeni urged parents to abide by the directive of the Lagos State government to stay safe and healthy by promoting washing of hands with soap, wearing of masks in public places and using alcohol-based hand sanitizer.

She also pleaded with school owners to begin the process of thinking through the opportunities that exist at this time to up-skill their staff through virtual training and webinars.

“This is the time to think and plan strategically to form good partnerships with the government in order to get resources for your schools,” she stated.