From Yakubu Mustapha, Minna
Niger state government has directed that all schools in the state should reopen for the new academic year by October contrary to next Monday declared by the Federal government.
The federal government had shifted the resumption dates for all private and public schools in the country to next Monday, as a result of the recent outbreak of the Ebola Virus Disease in some states of the country.
However, in announcing the new resumption date for public schools in the state yesterday government took into account the forthcoming Eid-el Kabir Muslim festival expected to hold worldwide in the first week of October.
According to the agreement reached by both Governor Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu and the Commissioner for Basic Education, Alhaji Danladi Abdulhamid Umar, when the governor received a delegation of the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board and those of the West African Examination Council (WAEC) and National Examination Council (NECO), most students will want to celebrate the Sallah with their parents, hence the September 22 date will not work.
According to the governor, most of the children will want to witness the slaughtering of rams and participate in other post-Sallah festivities, in defense of the position taken by government.
He said fixing the resumption date for Friday will enable students in boarding schools to tidy their surroundings for full scale lecture to commence on Monday.
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