The Federal Government has listed fresh conditions for the reopening of schools and learning institutions in the country.

The guidelines are contained in a 36-page document titled “Guidelines for schools and learning facilities reopening after COVID-19 pandemic closure”.

The document was submitted to the Senate by the Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu.

Adamu, in the document, described the conditions as key strategies for implementing safe, efficient, and equitable plans for school reopening and operations.

“Given that COVID-19 may be with us for a while, the guidelines also highlight the urgent need to maintain and improve upon distance learning programmes,” the Minister said.

Adamu explained that the conditions were arrived at, after consultation with health, environmental, education, and school safety experts who were tasked with the responsibility of charting a pathway for the safe reopening of schools and learning facilities.

A major point of the conditionalities is that schools must “create immediate temporary COVID-19 isolation space” before they can be considered to reopen.

Schools are also mandated to “ensure the establishment of a School COVID-19 Referral System including protocols and procedures to take if learners, teachers, administrators and other education personnel become unwell while in schools.”