The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that private and public schools in the state have reopened to complete the first term of the 2020/2021 school calendar.

A correspondent of NAN who visited some schools on  Monday in Abakaliki, reports that some teachers and students obeyed the COVID-19 protocols, some did not.

Dr Onyebuchi Chima, Commissioner for Education told NAN that the state government was committed to the enforcement of the COVID-19 protocols in schools.

“We have visited some schools to monitor the resumption and principals, teachers and students have been advised to observe the protocols.

“The schools have been provided with preventive facilities, including handwashing buckets, sanitizers, and facemasks; some teachers have also been trained on proper handling of cases if found.

“We are urging the teachers, pupils, and students to respect and obey all the COVID-19 protocols,” the commissioner stated.

Mr. Hyacinth Ikpor, Chairman, Ebonyi State Universal Basic Education Board (EBSUBEB) told NAN that the resumption was a welcome development and noted that obeying the protocols would go a long way in containing the viral disease.

“We have gone round and we observed that most schools are fully adhering to the protocols. I must tell you, the state government said, they will continue with the posting of two nurses to schools as it was done in the first wave of the coronavirus,” Ikpor said.

Mr. Donatus Ovuoba, Principal of Presco Secondary School, Abakaliki, said the school management is working hard to ensure that all protocols, including social distancing, are obsessed.

“Right now, we do not allow teachers to go to class without face masks,” Ovuoba stated.