School owners in the country have been given specific guidelines they are to meet before July 29th to enable a safe reopening of schools. This was disclosed by the Minister of State for Education, Emeka Nwajiuba, on Friday in Abuja. The government said an official date for safe reopening of schools will be announced once these guidelines are in place.

It was gathered that schools are expected to undertake self-assessment and send feedback to State Ministries of Education, not later than 29th July, 2020.

Nwajiuba said the Federal Ministry of Education (FMoE), having consulted widely, has in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Health, Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), the Education in Emergencies Working Group, developed and circulated guidelines for the reopening of schools.

The minister stated that after schools have met the guidelines, consultations with relevant stakeholders will be held to review the situation and decide on a specific date for reopening or otherwise.

The minister said the ministry has consulted with Commissioners of Education in the 36 states, the Association of Private School Owners of Nigeria,(APSON), National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools,(NAPPS), Provosts of Colleges of Education, Rectors of Polytechnics, Vice-Chancellors of Universities, some State Governors and development partners since Tuesday last week.

Concerning WAEC, the minister said the ministry met with WAEC on Monday and both parties have agreed to further consult with four other countries to pick September 5th as the new examination date.