Lagos orders closure of schools over #EndSARS protests

The Lagos State Government has ordered the closure of public and private schools in the state indefinitely.

This was announced in a press statement by the state’s Head of Public Affairs, Ministry of Education, Kayode Abayomi, on Monday.

The statement was titled, ‘Lagos directs students to stay at home’.

It quoted the Commissioner for Education, Mrs Folasade Adefisayo, as saying that the schools were shut down over “tension generated by the anti-SARS protests.”

The PUNCH reports that academic activities were affected in some schools in the state on Monday as protests against police brutality and bad governance continue.

The statement read in part, “The Lagos State Government has directed all pupils/students in public and private schools to stay at home following the tension generated by the anti-SARS protests.

“A new date of resumption for all classes will be announced as soon as possible.”

Adefisayo added that “the safety of the pupils/students, parents and all staff working in schools is paramount at this critical period”.

She however advised parents to “keep an eye on their wards and not allow them to be used as willing tools in the hands of those who might want to hijack the protests to unleash mayhem on the society”.

The Commissioner also encouraged schools to “utilise other means of distance teaching and learning i.e radio, television and online media as they have been doing during and post the recent COVID-19 lockdown”.

The PUNCH had reported that the Lagos State Government approved that both public and private schools in the state can fully resume from Monday, October 19, 2020.

Schools in the state were previously closed to curb the spread of coronavirus in the state.

Adefisayo, who made the announcement in a press statement last Monday, said the physical resumption, which was for the 2020/2021 academic session, would include pupils in pre-primary, daycare, kindergarten, and nursery schools.

The PUNCH gathered that many students and teachers encountered difficulty in getting to schools in the state on Monday.

There was also violence in the Yaba area of the state when some hoodlums attacked operatives of the Rapid Response Squad.

Our correspondent gathered some of the pupils and teachers trekked long distances to get to schools.

This is as #EndSARS protesters mounted roadblocks in strategic locations in the state in a bid to express their displeasure.