By Ifemosun Adesanya

The Bauchi State Government has denied rumour making the round in the state that it has concluded plans to reopen schools.

The State Commissioner for Education, Aliyu Usman Tilde, stated this during an interview with newsmen in Bauchi on Wednesday.

According to Tilde, schools resuming at this point in time will cost millions of naira from the Federal Government, which has to put necessary measures in place towards preventing the spread of COVID-19 pandemic.

Tilde added that such arrangements include the provision of hand sanitizers, face masks for students and teachers as well as creating more classrooms for physical distancing.

According to him, stakeholders in the education sector, including the Federal Government, are working hard to ensure Covid-19 protocols as directed by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) are put in place before schools reopen.

“The Federal Government and other stakeholders in the education sector are working to ensure that all the NCDC protocols in preventing the spread of Coronavirus is fully in place before the schools reopen in order to save the lives of both students and teachers,” the commissioner stated.

He assured that schools in the state will reopen as soon as the Federal Government provides assistance for the control of Covid-19 in the country.

“The schools in the state will be opened as soon as the Federal Government provides the needed assistance for the control of the pandemic in the country.

“So, it is not true that the state government wants to open schools, because the decision to do that is based on the directives of the Federal Government,” Tilde added