The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) in Ogun State, on Monday, urged the state government to reverse the directive asking Senior Secondary Students (SSS) in private school boarding facilities to pay N25, 000 for COVID-19 and malaria tests, as one of the conditions of returning to school for their examinations. It described the directive as shocking and an action which portrayed the government of the day as insensitive to the plight of the citizenry. The statement reads partly, “The attention of Nigeria Labour Congress has been drawn to the directive by Ogun State Government directing SSS3 boarding students in Private Secondary schools in the state to undergo a compulsory COVID-19 test at the cost of Twenty-Five Thousand (#25,000.00) Naira while government bears the cost of students in Public Secondary Schools. “We, therefore, condemn in strong terms, the introduction of dichotomy and discriminating policies between students of public and private schools in the state, as we found no moral justification whatsoever for this practice. “If testing for COVID-19 must be done for any category of students, it should be free for all students irrespective of whether they are in public or private schools.

Source: Nigerian Tribune August 03, 2020 15:00 UTC