COVID-19: School Owners Reject FG Plans to Convert Schools To Isolation Centres

The National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools has said it would not give permission to the Federal Government to make use of its facilities as isolation centres.

The President of the association, Yomi Otubela, told The PUNCH that schools were supposed to be reopened instead of converting them into isolation centres.

Otubela was reacting to the comments by Minister of Health, Osagie Ehanire, that schools and hotels could be used to house COVID-19 patients in the event that there is an overflow of patients in hospitals.

He said, “I don’t know how many of the Western countries whose methods we are copying use schools as isolation centres; I have not seen any. We should copy and copy rightly. Schools are meant for children and we should not use them for a purpose that will make them abandon schooling.

“Private school owners reject this idea. In fact, private schools should be considered for reopening because it is easy to maintain physical distancing than in public schools because they are usually crowded.

“Private school owners will not and never allow the use of their facilities for isolation centres.”

Otubela cited that there are many buildings the government could make use of in the place of schools.

“There are large expanses of land and moribund hospital facilities that the government can quickly fix and use for isolation centres,” he added.