The Vice President, IndustriALL Global Union, Comrade Aremu, mni, has cautioned against imminent mass illiteracy in Africa as a result of closure of schools arising from COVID-19 induced lock down.
He lamented that as many as 120,000,000 children and students are currently out of schools in West Africa, most of them from Nigeria due to the protocols adopted to flattening the curve of transmission of the world acclaimed deadly virus.
Aremu, a NEC member of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) said this in his speech delivered at the maiden virtual Hajia Hamdalat Aremu Memorial Ramadan Lecture” organized at the instance of Kwara State Council of Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ).
He said the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak came when the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) indicated that the population of out of school children in the country already rose from 10.5 million to 13.2 million.
Aremu noted that coronavirus had exposed the underdevelopment of educational infrastructure and the inherent inequalities between the education of the children of well having parents and mass of children in abandoned public schools.
He urged the government to use the period of lock down to reinvent the public schools with provision of water, sanitary personal protective materials for students and space for physical distanced interactions in the condition of pandemic.
To mitigate the adverse effect of closure of schools on students, the labour leader challenged states to embrace “Opon Imo” Tablet of Knowledge launched during the administration of Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola as Governor of Osun State in 2013.
He said the impact of COVID-19 called for technology innovation in education sectors with the application of the tablet of knowledge.
“Coronavirus pandemic has adversely affected both lives and livelihoods. One of the eased lockdown measures as directed by the Federal government should be on the education sector. However the official focus had been on impact on businesses, employment and incomes with series of bail outs. What of the impact on education of millions of students?
“As the country gradually eases out, it’s time to critically assess the impact on education. Before the pandemic, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) indicated that the population of out of school children in Nigeria has risen from 10.5 million to 13.2 million, the highest in the world!
“Today as many as 120,000,000 children and students are currently out of school in West Africa, most of them from Nigeria. If measures are not in place urgently, there might be renewed MASS ILLITERACY in Africa.
“First government must use the period of lock down to reinvent the public schools in terms of provision of water, sanitary personal protective materials for students and above all space for physical distanced interactions in the condition of pandemic.
“COVID-19 had once again exposed the underdevelopment of educational infrastructure and the inherent inequalities between the education of the children of well having parents and mass of children in abandoned public schools”, Aremu said.
He pointed out that continuous education of students was critical to minimize the pains and maximize the gains of COVID-19, just as he advocated unconditional cash transfers to all students by both the Federal and states governments.
Aremu also urged the governments to declare teachers as frontline workers with better incentives, remuneration and above all comprehensive health insurance to ensure educational service delivery.
