Education

School Reopening: 60,000 Environmental Officers To MonitorCOVID-19 Compliance

Published

5 years ago

October 5, 2020

No fewer than 60,000 Environmental Health Emergency Volunteers will be deployed to schools in 774 Local Government Areas across the country as October 12^th School Reopening approaches.

Minister of Environment, Mohammad Abubakar made this announcement on Monday in Abuja said the deployment is to ensure that the guidelines of the COVID-19 protocols are strictly adhered to as schools reopen on October 12.

Abubakar said the health officers will be assisting the schools to adopt basic safety measures which include hand washing, compulsory use of face mask, temperature checks as well as physical distancing.

“As a major stakeholder, the Ministry of the environment is set to play its role in the entire chain of events in school reopening.

“We shall be activating 6,000 of such volunteers to cover schools in all the 774 local governments in the Federation,” the Minister said

The 6,000 volunteers will be working with stakeholders at the national level with guidelines and there will be monitoring and evaluation by the Federal Government to ensure strict compliance of health protocols by schools across the country.

Abubakar also said the volunteers will be employed based on their previous performance while carrying out examination surveillance.

The Federal Government, last week ordered unity schools in the country, earlier closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, to reopen on October 12th, 2020.

Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, while making the announcement said the decision was reached after due consultations with stakeholders and the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19.

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Education

Athena Centre Appointed to NGREN Board as Federal Government Deepens Data-Driven Governance

Published

1 day ago

November 29, 2025

The Gleamer

Joel Ajayi

The Athena Centre for Policy and Leadership has been appointed to the Governing Board of the Nigerian Research and Education Network (NgREN)/Tertiary Education Research Applications and Services (TERAS). NgREN -Nigeria’s national research and education backbone – provides high-speed connectivity, shared digital services, and collaboration infrastructure for universities and research institutions, while TERAS powers the digital applications that support research, data exchange, and digital learning across the tertiary system.

In a statement issued on Saturday in Abuja by the center’s Media and Communications Officer Paul Liam.

The new NgREN/TERAS Board was inaugurated by the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, and the Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani, at the Nigeria National EdTech Strategy Mid-Term Co-Creation Workshop, hosted with support from Mastercard Foundation and the World Bank Group.

The Board includes the Executive Secretaries of NUC, NBTE, NCCE, and TETFund; representatives of vice chancellors, rectors, and provosts; and major digital infrastructure stakeholders such as NCC, Galaxy Backbone, and USPF. The Athena Centre joins the Board as the civil society voice.

In his remarks, Dr. Alausa acknowledged the Centre’s role in shaping national transparency reforms, noting that the Ministry’s Federal Tertiary Institutions Governance Transparency Portal (FTIGTP) drew inspiration from Athena’s research and advocacy.

He expressed confidence that the reconstituted Board will deliver measurable improvements within two years to strengthen Nigeria’s research ecosystem and digital readiness.

Representing the Centre on the Board, its Chancellor, Chief Osita Chidoka, OFR, commended the Ministry’s commitment to transparency and evidence-based reform.Reaffirming the Ministry’s digital direction, Dr. Alausa stated: “For the first time, Nigeria is building a unified data architecture for basic, secondary, and tertiary institutions. You cannot reform what you cannot measure, and we are determined to measure what matters.”

Echoing the need for interoperability, Dr. Tijani emphasised the importance of shared digital infrastructure, noting:“Digital transformation fails when systems operate in silos. Our priority is a national architecture where platforms talk to each other and every school is connected.”

Chidoka welcomed the digital innovation underway but stressed the importance of deeper inclusion of state governments, who own and manage most Nigerian schools, in planning, implementation, and financing.

According to him:“For education to succeed, states must invest, lead, and commit. The Federal Government must coordinate and support, but it cannot carry the burden of school management alone.”

The Athena Centre reaffirmed its commitment to supporting federal and state governments in strengthening education data systems, digital governance, and transparent accountability.Media Contact:

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