Some parents and guardians in Rivers State have expressed happiness over the re-opening of schools for the exit classes in the state by government.
They said such re opining was a welcome development as it has put to an end months of agitations and speculations since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country that forced the closure of schools across the country.
Speaking to The Tide in Port Harcourt over the weekend, Mr Johnson Chigozie lauded both the Federal and State governments for the gesture and said the opportunity would afford both parents, guardians and their children to move forward.
He urged management of schools in the state to organise intensive revision classes for both those in Junior Secondary 3 and their Senior Secondary 3 counterparts before their examinations.
On his part, Mr Akordinobi Egbegbu, a father of four, urged the affected schools to ensure they complied with the NCDC guidelines for the health of the students and the society at large.
He advised the state Ministry of Education to set up monitoring committees that will ensure total compliance and sanction erring schools in this regard.
Also speaking, Mrs Oluchi Samuel said parents now have a sense of relief due to the resumption of schools, ,adding that it will give the graduating students opportunity to meet up with their academic pursuit.
“Most of them would have been busy with their admission into another educational level but due to this scourge they are held back.
Anyway, it is better to be late than none “she stated.

Governor David Umahi of Ebonyi State has said that COVID-19 will help in checking ‘giraffing’ among students during examinations.
Giraffing, a malpractice, is used to describe the practice of peeping and copying from the scripts of other candidates in an examination environment.
Umahi made the declaration over the weekend in Abakaliki during a training organised for teachers and health workers who would be involved in the forthcoming West African School Certificate (WASC), examinations for students in the Junior and Senior Secondary 3 classes.
The governor said that observance of the pandemic’s preventive protocol of social distancing would ensure that students sat apart during the examinations.
”This is a good side of the pandemic and it will ensure that ‘giraffing’ will no longer work.
”The problem with COVID–19 is that it is not all about the individual but his or her family and friends.
”When we don’t totally m teacher to student, from student to other students and unto parents among others,” he said.observe the protocols, God forbid, the disease will be transmitted from teacher to student, from student to other students and unto parents among others,” he said.
Umahi directed that locations should be earmarked for hand washing in all the schools as students were expected to wash their hands before entering their classes.
”They should sanitise their hands with sanitisers, have their temperature checked and those with high temperature should be taken for tests.
”The positive cases will be treated immediately and they will rejoin their mates.
”The relevant authorities should ensure that teachers and students wear face masks before they enter the schools as they should adopt no face mask, no entrance policy,” he said.
He noted that the state government would provide preventive items to the students, teachers and health workers who would be involved in the examinations.
”The 38,000 students will receive four nose masks each, the 4,000 teachers get 75,000 face masks while the 500 health workers will receive over 1,000 face masks.
”The students, teachers and health workers will also receive sanitisers and liquid soaps freely while parents are mandated to provide water bottles for every student,” he said.
Dr Onyebuchi Chima, State Commissioner for Education said that there would be no morning assemblies in the schools while break periods would be suspended.
”Teachers should ensure that all COVID-19 protocols are observed to ensure that the students take their examinations safely,” he said.
Dr Daniel Umezurike, Commissioner for Health, said that the state presently had 908 confirmed cases of the disease with 33 deaths, 835 discharged and 40 active cases.
Mrs Betty Anyigor, a participant at the training, said that she would properly educate students on the COVID-19 protocols to check the disease’s spread during the examination.

In an effort to promote lasting peace and engender unity in the university, the Acting Vice Chancellor of the University of Port Harcourt, Professor Stephen Okodudu, has inaugurated two committees to resolve grievances among members within the university community.
The committees inaugurated were Committee on Resolution of Subsisting Legal Issues between the University and Other Parties which is headed by Professor Anele Ihekwaba, and Committee on Staff and Students’ Grievances chaired by Professor Kanu Nkangineme.
Inaugurating the committees at the council’s chambers in Choba over the weekend ,the Acting Vice Chancellor said the committees have one month to submit their reports, saying that the numerous court cases and disaffection among staff and students had continued to widen the gap of communality in the academic environment which must be bridged without further delay.
He advised the respective Committees not to use this opportunity for dialogue to open new contentious issues or engage in blame game.
“To everything there is a time and season. For me, who is right or wrong is immaterial at this stage. What is right is what matters now. Just do justice to all by addressing the issues and resolve them on the basis of the fine principles that are encapsulated in the Statute and other regulations governing such issues in the University and by convention established by the founding fathers of this University,” he stated.
Okodudu, however, enjoined all stakeholders to eschew divisive tendencies to return the university to the path of inclusiveness to promote team work with brotherly love to move the institution to more enviable academic height.In their separate speeches, the Chairman of the Committee on Resolution of Subsisting Legal Issues between the University and Other Parties, Professor Ihekwaba, and a member of the Staff and Students’ Grievances, Professor e Chairman, Professor Kanu Nkangineme, commended the Acting Vice Chancellor for their appointments into the committees and promised to carry out the task to the best of their abilities.Osaretin Ejele, who spoke on behalf of the Chairman, Professor Kanu Nkangineme, commended the Acting Vice Chancellor for their appointments into the committees and promised to carry out the task to the best of their abilities.