Ebola: FCTA bars children with high temperature from schools

By Stanley Onyekwere

As schools reopen today for the 2014/2015 academic term, principals and head teachers of schools in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have been instructed not to admit any child with high temperature and or ailments having symptoms similar to the deadly Ebola Virus Disease (EVD).

Accordingly, such child or children should as the case may be, are to be treated by their parents and certified free of malaria before the schools should admit them.

Giving this directive, during the distribution of Ebola Prevention/sanitary items to FCT schools, at the weekend, the Secretary of the FCT Education Secretariat, Malam Kabiru Usman, said it is part of the pre-empty measures to ensure that children and their teachers are not unwittingly infected with the disease.

“We should not admit any student with malaria, which may give out similar symptoms of Ebola; therefore parents are urged to first take care of any child with such ailment before bring the student to the school.

“Fighting this disease should be a collective responsibility of all and I urge all of us to play our part with diligence and commitment. It is only together that we can defeat Ebola, ” he stressed.

Peoples Daily reports that the items distributed were cartoons of hand sanitizers, liquid disinfectants and hand gloves and printed sensitization materials, including two hand held thermometers each to all public schools in FCT.

This, Kabiru said the secretariat has enough of these items to last till the end of the year while in January more would be procured if need be, adding that schools that have no running taps will be supplied with water tankers.

He however assured the public that the department of quality assurance will make regular visits to private schools in the territory to ensure that they comply with the standards of prevention.

Responding on behalf of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), FCT wing, Comrade, Hassan Jibir, said precautions over the dread EVD cannot be too much, therefore if the prevention items do not go round the schools it the union will not allow her teachers into such schools.

He therefore urged teachers not to resume in schools where the materials are not present, adding that  that the union will inspect schools to be sure that the procured and presented materials got to all school.