School Resumption: Parents Urge Oyo Govt To Cancel Afternoon Classes

Parents of students in both public and private schools have urged the state government to cancel staggered classes, saying it expose their children to numerous risks.

Some parents that spoke with Tribune Newspaper stated that while they were happy that schools have opened, they were not comfortable with staggered classes especially the noon classes which expose their children to numerous risks.

“They were of the opinion that the government should allow everyone to attend school in the morning and reduce the period they spend in schools,” the medium reported.

Mrs Tolu Ogunrinola, a teacher in a private school in Lagelu Local Government Area of the state, explained that she does not know how to cope as her two children do not fall into the same time range for classes and she also has to go to work at a different school as a teacher.

“I don’t know what to do; I am a teacher, will I leave my work to pick the little one at 11 am? Where will I keep her when I also have to go back to work and where will the elder one be in the morning? We are going to expose these children to more risks because we will be keeping them with people we may not even trust just to comply with government instructions.

“Then for those that have to go to school at noon, what will their concentration be like? They would have played all morning and will not be well disposed to learning. Most teachers will have issues with children coming to learn at noon because this is the era of distraction and with parents away at work, there’s no one to monitor many children,” she stated.
Mr Ade Ogunyale said while school opening was good, the manner the classes were broken down was a source of headache because, on most days, his children won’t be able to go to school.

On Monday, Public and private schools in Oyo State, on Monday, resumed, with most of them complying strictly with COVID-19 protocols and government’s guidelines on staggered school hours.

The schools had been closed since March, following the outbreak of COVID-19 in the country.