Guidelines for Schools and Learning Facilities Reopening after COVID-19 Pandemic Closures

The development and issuance of these guidelines for the safe reopening of schools and learning facilities is a consultative and collaborative initiative of the Federal Ministry of Education, Education in Emergencies Working Group in Nigeria (EiEWGN), Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, Federal Ministry of Health, Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), UNICEF, Save the Children International, Plan International, Street Child, Terre des Hommes, international development partners, donors, and the civil society, including teachers’ unions, parents, and community representatives. The goal is to support and facilitate prompt and safe achievement of the objectives of the Nigeria Education Sector COVID-19 Response Strategy. The guidelines will assist federal, state, and local governments and their relevant ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs), families, communities, and authorities in decision-making, approach modeling, and operational planning for safely reopening schools, recovering pre-pandemic capacities, and institutionalizing good safe school practices for the transformation of the education sector in the long term. The availability of these guidelines and implementation of its recommendations will ensure that all stakeholders within the educational system have a sense of their rights and responsibilities. In addition, this will help learners, teachers, parents, guardians, communities, and the larger society to trust the process of reopening and be assured that learning will continue in a safe and protective environment. This will also support governments in education reforms and effective service delivery during and post COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria.