Founder of Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD), Aare Afe Babalola (SAN) has said the continuous closure of universities in the country as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic is unconstitutional and would be counter-productive.
Expressing opposition to mass closure of universities, the Senior Advocate of Nigeria noted that the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 must refrain from giving blanket order, saying there was no due consultation with the proprietors of private universities.
“I am of the firm view that mass closure of schools is unconstitutional, disastrous and counterproductive.
“It is certainly unjust to the parents, teachers, students and proprietors of schools and also violates the rule of natural justice.
“Today, there are many private universities that have these facilities and therefore safer than most offices and even personal homes,” he said.
Babalola disclosed that the United States Centre for Disease Control and Prevention had put all these into consideration when it officially recommended that universities should be accorded preferential treatment under COVID-19 in terms of operations.
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According to him, “The USCDC said universities are different in terms of size, geographical location, structure and in their abilities to put in place measure that will guarantee minimum risk to students and teachers in their schools, which in turn will ensure un-disrupted and on-campus learning for students.
“On the contrary, universities which do not possess these facilities are within the high-risk category.
“I hereby strongly advise that the Federal Government should stop mass closure of schools. All schools, particularly the private universities that have the required world class health facilities and have complied with Presidential Task Force regulations which will enable them to implement low medium risk measures, ought not and should not be shut down.
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“To shut them down with those which don’t have such facilities is unjust and violates the terms of natural justice and therefore unconstitutional.”
He said his eleven years old university had been having a smooth and uninterrupted academic calendar before abrupt disruption by Covid-19, thereby stalling operations and closure of the university in spite of the world-class facilities it parades to prevent the spread of the lethal disease.
Babalola reminded the FG that should the low-risk private universities remain shut down to wait for high-risk institutions, it will make the ivory towers remain in comatose for long.
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