Lagos ‘II give palliatives to private school owners, teachers -Education Commissioner

Opeyemi Adelere

 Lagos State Commissioner for Education, Mrs. Folasade Adefisayo, has said that the state will give palliatives to private school owners and their members of staff.

She spoke while monitoring the distribution of food rations to some families under the National Home Grown School Feeding Programme.  She said that government was working out modalities to ensure that the palliatives reach the target audience.

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Without giving an exact date, she said the plan would soon be executed.  “We are working on their palliatives. The problem is their diffusion. They are so many; who do we give the palliative for the teachers to? If we give them to the school owners, we must have a method of ensuring that it gets to them. The palliative is for the proprietors and the staff,” she said.

The Commissioner also confirmed the purchase of 300,000 radios for public school pupils without access to e-learning, to actively participate in radio classes run by the Lagos State Ministry of Education. Recall that Franktalknow.com had exclusively reported that Lagos State government had purchased 300,000 transistor radios for indigent students to aid its radio teaching programme.

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“We are distributing radios, maybe from Monday. We have already purchased the radios – people are donating to us – even our staff. So if you too want, you can donate. It is only N2, 000 for a radio,” she said.

Speaking on when schools will reopen, she said the Federal Government was working out modalities for re-opening, adding that third term would formally begin when the Federal Government directs schools to reopen.

“We want schools to open as soon as possible but we have to watch the pandemic. You see, we should put safety first. Everybody is worried because there will definitely be a learning slide when children are at home for long periods. The Federal Government who we are looking up to will declare when the third term will start. When they declare it, then we will follow their directive at that point.

“Even if we have been doing part of (the scheme), we are not doing every subject; we are only doing three subjects a day. So when they come back to school, they will just reinforce the learning,” she said.