Kano plans palliative for teachers, distributes PPEs to 538 schools

Maryam Abeeb, Abuja

The Kano State Government said it would provide palliatives to teachers and non-teaching staff of private schools to cushion the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Gov. Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano disclosed this while flagging-off the distribution of Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs) to 538 public and private schools in the State.
Ganduje, represented by his Deputy, Mr Nasir Gawuna, said the private schools owners had complained to government over the challenges their staff were facing occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic.
He added that the Government would look into the issue and see the possible way out of it.
On the distribution of the PPEs, Ganduje said it was part of preparations for the resumption of secondary schools final year students.
According to him, the materials include face masks, hand sanitisers, hand washing facilities and infrared thermometer to check the students’s temperature.
Ganduje further said that the state government was on the verge of winning the fight against the highly contagious COVID-19 in the state.
He called on the residents to strictly adher to the laid down protocols by health experts in order to completely stop the spread of the virus.
The governor said the government had made use of facemasks mandatory not only in schools but across the state, noting that the enforcement would start soon.
He called on the Frontline workers, principals and teachers, to judiciously put to use the materials to curb the spread of the disease among students.
Earlier in his speech, Commissioner of Education, Mr Sanusi Kiru, said Kano State was the only state that had taken the responsibility of distributing the materials to the schools which had met the request of the Presidential Task Force (PTF).
According to him, out of 27,454 students taking final year West African Examination Council (WAEC) Examination in the state, 11,400 are from public schools and 16,460 from private schools.
The Commissioner of Health, Dr. Ibrahim Tsanyawa, said all students would be subjected to screening and hand washing.
He added that the provision of the materials was to ensure that nothing was taken for granted.
The representative of the Proprietors of Private Schools Association, Hajia Maryam Magaji, commended the effort of the government for the donation.
She however, appealed to the state government to waive off revenues from private schools for two terms, due to non-payment of school fees occasioned by the pandemic.
It could be recalled that the state government had since embarked on fumigation and disinfection of 538 schools in the state ahead of resumption of schools on Aug. 10, for the exit students.