Benue state universal Basic Education Board SUBEB Chairman, Joseph Utse said the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) and the Benue state Government jointly released the sum of Ten million (#10,000,000) naira only for the procurement and distribution of 2, 749 hand sanitizers as well as other preventive materials to 2, 749 Basic Schools in Benue state.
The Chairman who disclosed this at the ceremony of the distribution of Covid19 preventive iterms to public schools in Benue State at LGEA central primary school Makurdi tasked beneficiaries on the judicious use of the items as demanded. He also cautioned teachers to avoid the temptation of diverting the materials as anyone caught in the attempt will be sanctioned.
The SUBEB Boss who was represented by Permanent member 1 at the Board, Mike Kusa charged social mobilization officers at the Board headquarters, zonal offices and the various Local Government Education Authorities to closely monitor the use of the items to ensure that misapplication is avoided.
Comrade Utse appreciated Gov. Samuel Ortom and the Commissioner of Education for their commitment to the success of the Education Sector particularly Basic Education in Benue state.
Read also: ‘Nigeria requires additional cooling capacity to store COVID-19 vaccines but wont get it’
Speaking during the ceremony, the state Commissioner of Education which was represented by the Special Adviser to the Governor on Basic Education, Sarwuan Tarnongo in a keynote address said the distribution of the preventive materials to learners today was important (and not too late) as he lamented that “the virus is still with us”.
“The spread of novel Corona virus disease (Covid-19) in Nigeria continues to record significant increases as the latest statistics provided by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control reveal Nigeria now has 67, 557, confirmed cases. Even as at yesterday, 30th November 2020, 145 new confirmed cases and zero (0) death was recorded in Nigeria. Out of the 67,557 cases confirmed in Nigeria, 496 cases are recorded from Benue state. Health experts warmed of possible explosion of the diseases if not properly handled by government”.
Ityayar who said the Benue state Government under Governor Ortom has provided clean water by drilling boreholes noted that a lot still needs to be done in the area of self sanitation and personal hygiene, particularly to schools in remote areas.
The Commissioner urged SUBEB to keep accurate data and statistics of schools to ensure effective delivery, evaluation and monitoring of sustainable, effective public health materials in their schools. He tasked SUBEB to design a personal Health Record (PHR) book in which the medical records of each child should be stored for future reference and analysis.
In a related development, Sarwuan Tarnongo used the occasion to announce that the Friday public holidays declared by the Benue state Government from 6th November, 2020 to 29th January 2021 did not include schools. According to him, schools are part of essential services and they will not meet up with their calendar or curriculum if they are observing Friday public holidays. But hey can work on their farms during end-of-the term holidays.
