The provision of anti-Ebola Virus Disease facilities has altered the complexion of many schools and the thinking of their pupils
More than two months after going on holiday, it was obvious Chimaobi Onuoha was happy to be back in school on Wednesday.
In fact, the nine-year old pupil of the Masterpiece School, Akera in the Ifo Local Government Area of Ogun State, was all smiles. She particularly shrieked with delight as one of her teachers pointed an infrared thermometer to her forehead to check her temperature.
Moments after the teacher checked her temperature at the gate, she joined her colleagues on the queue and they washed their hands under a running tap in the premises. Indeed, Onuoha giggled with excitement throughout the process.
“It is fun, but the thermometer looks like a gun. My teacher said the instrument was to check whether I had any symptom of Ebola,’’ she said innocently.
Onuoha’s excitement was not peculiar to her. Her friends in the school had the same feeling of exhilaration.
In many other schools in Lagos, Ogun, Abuja, and Rivers states, just to mention a few, it was the same ecstasy among the pupils. They were thrilled to have their temperature checked, even as some of them eagerly helped their teachers to set up emergency hand washing stations.
Beyond the pupils’ excitement, the resumption of schools in many states on Wednesday have recorded different levels of over strict hygiene measures recommended for the prevention of the Ebola Virus Disease.
Since July 20, when the Ebola Virus Disease was imported into the country, resumption for a new academic session has varied from state to state to allow each state distribute equipment needed for sanitation. They include sanitisers, infrared thermometers, soaps, water storage facilities, gloves and water.
For pupils and members of staff of the Ijaiye-Ojokoro Senior College, Lagos, the resumption, on Wednesday, was long in coming. There was palpable excitement in the air in the expansive premises, which accommodates three other schools.
[/media-credit] A pupil of Ijaiye-Ojokoro Junior School, Lagos, washing his hands…on Wednesday
Our correspondent observed various hand washing points. Teachers were also seen assembling water containers while their pupils fetched water. Each school in the premises had two points. However, there were no sign of infrared thermometer usage in any of the schools.
The principal of the school declined to give his name or make comments on the development. “We are not permitted to talk to journalists. You can direct your questions to the Ministry of Education,’’ he said.
At the African Church Grammar School, Ifako-Ijaiye, pupils were screened with the infrared thermometers while two points were also noticed inside the premises. Our correspondent sighted many drums of water and white wooden stands. Jars of sanitisers and soaps were also seen being distributed by members of staff at various points.
However, besides these precautionary measures to prevent the EVD, experts said hygienic practices in schools could help prevent the spread of germs and stop infections such as cholera, diarrhoea and dysentery. These infections, according to them, contribute significantly to childhood mortality.
They affirmed that the importation of the EVD into the country had highlighted the abysmal state of sanitation facilities in public schools across the country and offered an excellent opportunity to address the lapses.
According to the Lagos State Chairman, Association of General and Private Medical Practitioners, Dr. Adeyeye Arigbabuwo, hand washing is an important part of disease prevention.
Arigbabuwo said, “It can prevent many contagious diseases such as typhoid fever and many others. Hand washing should be taught in schools and at home, not only to prevent the Ebola Virus Disease but also these contagious diseases.’’
Also, a Consultant Pediatrician at the St. Nicholas Hospital, Lagos, Dr. Adeseye Akinsete, urged all stakeholders to consolidate on the interventions recorded in the wake of the Ebola outbreak in order to salvage the education sector.
He said, “We need to reintroduce health education and revive the school health programme to strengthen this drive. There is the need to teach children at an early age how to wash their hands and when to wash their hands. We should have jingles and promotional materials on TV to support this. Government will not do this but our collective drive will see this through. If we start early, it then becomes a part of our national life.”
He canvassed the need for the teaching of proper hand washing procedure in schools.
Akinsete added, “Hand washing has long been known to be one of the most effective ways of preventing the transmission of infections and illnesses. There are specific times when one must wash the hands as well as a particular pattern of washing.
“It is encouraged that the hands must be washed whenever one returns to the home, before and after cooking and after using the bathroom. You must wet the hands with water before applying the soap and the hands must be rubbed together for approximately 20 to 30 seconds. This is one of the most effective ways of preventing the spread of diseases, even within hospital settings.”
But for the President, Nigeria Union of Teachers, Mr. Michael Alogba, the EVD scare has further exposed the rot in the education sector.
“It has exposed the deplorable state of hygiene in our schools. Ordinarily, we do not need to cry to the high heavens before we could have water in our schools. But the EVD has exposed our shortcomings. Let everybody begin to do what is right. The government should know that it is accountable to the people,’’ he said in a telephone interview with our correspondent.
Meanwhile, online reports have it that many public schools will soon get potable water, a necessary condition for an effective hygiene practices.
In Ebonyi State, the Commissioner for Education, Mr. Ndubuisi Chibueze-Agbo, said there would soon be the provision of water in public schools across the state.
The Rivers State Government has also promised to shut down any school without pipe-borne water. Recall that Rivers is one of the states hit by EVD.
In a recent meeting with head teachers and the NUT leadership in Lagos, Governor Babatunde Fashola had promised the provision of water projects in some public schools.
Fashola said, “We have awarded contracts to provide water in about 800 schools, over 200 have been completed. Whether there is Ebola or not, we must provide water for the schools and make schools safe for our children.’’
While many schools in Ogun State have yet to get pipe- borne water, the state NUT Chairman, Mr. Dare Ilekoya, commended the government for providing basic Ebola preventive equipment needed for resumption.
He urged the government to provide pipe-borne water and toilet facilities in all the public schools in the state.
He said, “We went round the schools with the commissioner for education on Tuesday, when the infrared thermometers and sanitisers were distributed. We urged the government to provide pipe-borne water and toilets in all public schools in the state.
“If we were to insist that they provide all these before resumption, we might have to wait till the end of the world.”
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