By Alexis Akwagyiram
LAGOS, July 27 (Reuters) - Nigeria will allow schools to
reopen for pupils due to take graduation exams, a presidential
aide said on Monday, reviving a plan dropped earlier this month
due to rising cases of COVID-19.
The West African country has reported 40,532 coronavirus
infections including 858 deaths and the number of deaths has
jumped from 460 since the schools plan was postponed on July 9.
But in the last few weeks domestic flights have resumed and
a ban on interstate travel was lifted as authorities relax
restrictions to open up the
economy. "The federal government orders the re-opening schools for
secondary school students in exit classes on August 4, 2020,"
Bashir Ahmad, a presidential aide, tweeted.
In the message, he said the move was made ahead of the start
of the West African Examinations (WAEC) - a region-wide test for
graduation from secondary school - on Aug. 17.
A ministry of education statement included in the tweet said
students would have two weeks to prepare for the exams.
It said the decision was taken to reopen for students in
"exit classes" following a meeting between the ministry,
education officials from all 36 states and the Nigerian Union of
Teachers.
Pupils aged 14 and above typically sit the exams in Nigeria.
"On schools & #COVID19: there are no easy decisions," said
Chikwe Ihekweazu, director general of the Nigeria Centre for
Disease Control, in a tweet that linked to the ministry of
education statement.