Lorine Emenike
Following the pronouncement by the Federal Government that schools will soon reopen in the country, teachers and students in Rivers State have expressed readiness to go back to classrooms, promising to abide by the World Health Organization, and government rules and measures to control the spread of coronavirus.
Mrs Joy Nwonusoro, a teacher at Vineyard International Group of Schools in Port Harcourt commended government efforts to reopen schools, stating that the lockdown has brought hardship to her and other teachers, especially teachers teaching in private schools.
“I will prefer schools to reopen because a lot of teachers have been so stranded. We are not doing anything at home, at least for the past three months, we have not received any salary”
“I would have preferred that schools reopen because I heard some of the conditions that were given by the government to be followed by schools authorities, that means if we can follow-up with those protocols, I believe we can go back to school.
“And we as teachers will at least have what our family can feed with because a lot of teachers have been so stranded and some of our husbands are not really doing well, we have been assisting them in one way or two”
“I can say that if the government will allow us to go back to school so that we can continue with our normal life, then we can follow-up with the protocols”
Also, students of Shalom International High School in Port Harcourt said that they are tired of staying home and applauded the government’s moves to reopen schools.
Master Kelvin Ihunwo, a junior secondary school student of International High School in Port Harcourt said ” I feel that schools should open mostly for the exam classes because we are about to write our exams and move to another class”
“It will be bad if they just move us to that class automatically without writing our exams because we will not know what else to do when we enter that new class. So we want the school to open and we promise to obey all of the rules and measures in controlling the spread of the virus”
Also, Miss Sonia Chikakwo, a junior secondary school student in class two in International High School in Port Harcourt said “I feel that schools should open because it has been a long time since the lockdown”
“Since the month of March that this lockdown began, some children must have forgotten somethings and they must have not been reading their books, so I feel that schools should open so that we can learn more things because we are entering third terms. We are about to write exams to enter another class, it might be hard for some people”
“They should either put measures so that some children can follow them and we will observe social distancing. The government should also fumigate schools so that people can’t contract the disease. They can give spaces in between some lockers in classrooms so that kids will not be touching each other”
“Schools should reopen because it has been a long time and I really want to go back to school because I miss learning. For three months now we have not been in school, I feel that schools should open fast”
