Nigerians should be thankful that there is presently no case of the dreaded Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) in the country. If there was, there would have been reasons to be concerned about keeping the disease out of schools. This is because despite the postponement of the resumption date for the start of the 2014/2015 academic session by two weeks (three in some states), not all schools are getting the prevention management right.
Many primary and secondary schools (both public and private) across the country resumed for the new session last Wednesday. Prior to that time, they were meant to have sent two people per school for training on Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) prevention and management training facilitated by the various state ministries of health and education. They were also meant to provide thermoscans (hand held digital thermometers) to check the temperatures of the pupils as they arrive in school, potable water and soap to promote regular hand washing, and good toilet facilities.
The unavailability of these items in many public schools led the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) to reject the September 22 resumption date for the 2014/2015 academic session. They insisted that without the government providing all public primary and secondary schools with these items, they would not resume their classroom duties.
The new resumption date however met many schools at various levels of preparedness in terms of facilities, transmission of knowledge, and hygienic practices.
Government distributes supplies
Many states have appropriated huge amounts to fight the virus and provide schools with the necessary items to improve hygiene in schools. In Plateau State, Governor Jonah Jang released N95 million for the training of all school teachers on how to detect, manage, and control the EVD in schools. About 8,000 teachers participated in the training organised by the state ministry of health, UNICEF, Nigeria Medical Association (NMA).
Many other states held similar training, which was followed with the supply of necessary facilities to public schools. For instance, Lagos State supplied thermoscans to Ebola Focal Officers in each of its 1007 public primary and 668 secondary schools, while Plateau State equipped three mobile clinic vans to go round schools in the three senatorial zones of the state. In Cross River and Rivers State, Chairmen of the NUT expressed satisfaction with the provision of buckets with taps, automatic sanitizer dispensers, sanitizers, soaps and other items by the state government.
“The union is satisfied with the arrangement, procurement and distribution of the preventive and protective gadgets on EVD and encourages all school principals and head teachers to ensure adequate measures for the effective and sustained use of the gadgets,” said Comrade Eyo-Nsa Itam, Chairman, Cross River State NUT. His counterpart in the Rivers State Wing, Comrade Godffrey Nwogu, added that the teachers would reach out to health officials any time they have serious health challenges in schools.
Many schools in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have revamped their water and toilet facilities as mandated by the Federal Government. President of All Nigerian Confederation of Principal of Secondary Schools (ANCOPSS), Abuja chapter, Mohammed Kotangora, told The Nation that government provided the necessary kits for public schools.
“We met and discovered government had bought all the necessary items they asked them to buy. We participated in the distribution. Almost all the schools have gotten. All is well in FCT,” he said.
The FCT Education Secretary, Malam Kabiru Usman, said 1,264 primary schools each got a carton of hand sanitizer, liquid disinfectants and hand gloves while posters on direction of proper use of the items were also presented to school authorities.
At the Government Senior Secondary School, Lugbe, one of the students, who identified himself as David Alfa, told The Nation that his school has improved because of the coming of the disease to Nigeria.
“Ebola has changed so many things in our school. We now have running taps, unlike before when we depended on the stream behind our school. That is where most of us washed our hands if there was need to do so. But, as we resumed we saw these hand sanitizers and different washing soaps. It is a big relief,” he said.
The FCT Administration did not provide private schools with preventive materials but promised to monitor to ensure compliance.
At the Solid Rock School, Lugbe, Abuja, a private school, the principal, Dr Abigael Okon, said the school made provision for all preventive materials.
Water remains a major challenge
However, despite the importance of water for sanitation and personal hygiene, many schools across the country still lack running water. Instead of boreholes, they have been provided with tanks or drums for water. A teacher in Cross River (names withheld), said his school still lacks water and other sanitary items.
“In the school that I work, we do not have steady supply of water and other things like sanitizers and so on. I think a lot still needs to be done,” the teacher said.
Many public schools, especially primary schools in Sokoto State are at a disadvantage because of lack of running water and toilets. A Primary 2 pupil in one of the public schools, Musa Sahabi, told The Nation that his school is one of them.
“My school does not have running water and toilet facilities are lacking. Most times, we run to a nearby bush or hide to excrete and we do not have soap to wash our hands. It’s only God that protects us,” he said.
In Bayelsa State, the NUT had to protest before teachers were trained to manage Ebola in schools last week. Some 484 teachers across the state were trained at a workshop inaugurated by the Commissioner for Education, Mr. Salo Adikumo.
The Health Commissioner, Dr. Ayibatonye Owei, presented 240 handheld thermometers, wash hand basins, and detergents to the Ministry of Education for distribution to the trained teachers. However as at Tuesday the Ebola preventive kits were not available in most schools in Yenagoa, including the famous St. Jude Secondary School. Our correspondent observed that there were no running water, good toilet facilities, hand wash basins and sanitisers in the school.
In Delta State, preparatory to resumption, Chief Inspector of Education, Mrs Patience Okwuchi, said at a training for heads of public and private primary and secondary schools in Agbor, Ika South L.G.A that the Ministry of Secondary and Basic Education would supply public schools with buckets and antiseptic soaps for both pupils and teachers to help check EVD.
She said: “We are fully ready to check the spread of Ebola Virus in our schools and we are going to provide buckets of water and antiseptic soap for washing of hands by both staff and students by the time we resume for the 2014/2015 academic session.”
However, checks by The Nation revealed that eight days into resumption, schools had not being given buckets and antiseptic soap save for thermoscans.
In Niger State, it was also observed that virtually all the public schools lack running water. Most of them depend on water vendor to purchase water, while the infrared thermal detectors given to each school was grossly inadequate for number of pupils in the schools.
In Kano State, many public and private schools lacked water. In the Kano metropolis and the Sabon Gari area, both private and public schools were yet to be supplied with the prevention equipment by Tuesday. Some, however, have received their supplies.
A pupil of Government Girls Secondary School, Dakata, said her school had received all necessary equipment. However, Alhaji Musa Garba Adam, sectional head of Albright International School, a private school also in Dakata, told this reporter that the school was still awaiting government support.
“We are yet to receive any Ebola prevention equipment from the state government. But the school authorities have organised an interim measure of providing buckets of water and soap for students to wash their hands before entering their various classrooms and after closing,” he said.
The Kano NUT Chairman, Alhaji Lawan Abdul Garun Mallam, confirmed that the government promised to provide materials to schools before the end of this week.
He said: “We the union executives sat with the state government and they informed us that schools should resume on Monday, with the promise that all the preventive equipments for Ebola would be supplied to the 78,000 schools in Kano State from Monday to Friday. About 24,400 teachers were trained on this Ebola virus preventive measures and the state government has promised to supply water containers, liquid soaps to the schools, starting from Monday to Friday”.
The Nation learnt that the thermometers were yet to be supplied by the Federal Government for distribution to schools.
Acknowledging the water problem in many public schools, the Cross River Commissioner for Education, Prof Offiong Offiong, said in the interim, principals have been provided with imprest to buy water in the tanks that have been provided by the state government.
He said: “We recognise that some of our schools may not have running taps as well as constant supply of water. So we have also made provision for tanks. We have disbursed monies to principals and head teachers to but tanks with taps to enable them have water to sustain regular handwashing for students and staff. This is just a short term measure. The long term is to ensure that all our schools have potable water supply because there is nothing like hygiene and sanitation without steady supply of water. As we all know regular handwashing and hygiene as one of the basic ways to avoid the spread of Ebola. We are reviewing the school health policy in line with the emergence of this Ebola. So I think that we are on course.”
Private schools seem more prepared on the outside in terms of facilities than public schools. Head Teacher of Dawah Nursery and Primary School, Jakande Estate, Isolo, Lagos, Mr Akinosho Abdulfatai Iyanda, said in addition to regular water supply in schools, they placed six drums fitted with taps in strategic parts of the school.
“We have tried to put a lot in place to contain the virus. We have also made available six water tanks and drainage where the water from the tap passes to the general drainage outside the school,” he said.
Knowledge of the EVD and prevention practices
On a positive note, awareness about the EVD and preventive measures is high in both public and private schools. Many pupils told our reporters that they had learnt a lot about how to manage the EVD.
In the FCT, a secondary school pupil, Olaoluwa Ayo expressed happiness that prompt action was taken by the authorities to prevent the EVD.
His words: “I am happy that we are all going through this process to prevent EVD. All the required preventive equipments were provided. The school authority is not leaving anything to chance.”
A female teacher in Delta State said pupils learnt about EVD during the morning assembly.
“We sensitized our pupils this morning at the assembly about the disease and what to look at for. We also told them to report anybody that is found to be sick to the school authority without delay. But we are also calling on the government to provide us with precautions not just against the disease but also to promote hygiene in the school environment. Government should provide functional borehole for water supply in schools so that students can always wash their hands,” she said.
In private and public schools in Jos, children are made to wash their hands three times during school hours – while entering the school early in the morning, after break, and when closing.
Ladi John, a Primary Four pupil at Zamaganda Primary and Secondary School said: “The teachers used to flash one torch on our face before we enter school. They say the torch can show any child with Ebola virus.”
Another pupil, Emma David said, “The first two days that we resumed, the only lesson they gave us was on Ebola disease, its prevention and management. They also taught us how to detect someone who has the disease.”
In Enugu State, the Ebola prevention measures which were strictly observed at the resumption have been relaxed by most schools. The strict washing of hands before entering the classes is no longer being done, particularly in public schools.
But some private schools are still observing the preventive measures. One of such schools, Notre Dame Nursery and Primary School, Awkunanaw, Enugu, still insists that pupils wash their hands after the morning assembly before entering the class.
Buckets of water were seen positioned at all entry points to the classes while pupils take turns to wash their hands.
The situation was similar at Hillview Nursery and Primary School where pupils were screened during assembly.
Many schools in Lagos had their security guards on standby to check the temperature of visitors with the handheld thermometer, after which they directed them to wash their hands in water sterilized with sodium hypochlorite.
However, though private schools seem to have better facilities than public schools on the surface, further investigation revealed that various schools do not maintain clean environment inside. Though they have installed sinks close to their entrance, and provided liquid hand wash, sanitizer, paper towels and waste bins in strategic places, many of their toilets and environment were not so clean. The toilets lacked water and smelt badly. They were not provided with soap, neither were the workers seen supervising pupils to take hand washing seriously.
The high level of awareness about the EVD does not extend to schools in Bayelsa State, where many pupils claimed that since resuming classes, nobody has educated them on measures to prevent getting infected with the virus. One of the pupils at St Jude Secondary School, who identified herself as Rita, said:
“Since we resumed, we have not been told anything about Ebola. We have been carrying on with our lives like before. There are no washing hand basins, no soap and sanitisers”, she said.
How to wash your hands
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), it is best to wash hands with soap and water. Follow these simple steps: Wet your hands with running water; apply liquid, bar or powder soap; lather well; rub your hands vigorously for at least 20 seconds. Remember to scrub all surfaces, including the backs of your hands, wrists, between your fingers and under your fingernails; rinse well; dry your hands with a clean or disposable towel or air dryer and if possible, use your towel to turn off the faucet.
Keep in mind that antibacterial soap is no more effective at killing germs than is regular soap. Using antibacterial soap may even lead to the development of bacteria that are resistant to the product’s antimicrobial agents — making it harder to kill these germs in the future.
