The Oyo State Government has said schools will remain open even as the federal government warned against such due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Students preparing to write the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) will have the opportunity to do so unless the West African Examination Council says otherwise.

Commissioner for Education, Olasunkanmi Olaleye in the state while maintaining that schools will remain open, said that the directive by the the Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu that schools in the country will not participate in this year’s WASSCE and should remain shut can only be enforced in Federal Government schools.

The Commissioner for Education also mentioned that schools have re-opened in Oyo State and are in high compliance with safety protocols necessary for re-opening.

He also said that pending an official statement from the West African Examination Council (WAEC) and Governor Seyi Makinde, Oyo schools will remain re-opened till then.

He said, “We have resumed in Oyo state and you must have seen the level of compliance to COVID-19 protocols by our schools.If you go to our schools, you will see that our senior students are still learning and the preparation for WAEC is ongoing. The examination is part of educational development. So the state government will assess the situation especially because of the fact that WAEC is an integral part of educational development hence it cannot be ignored.

“WAEC is a regional examination that involves five countries so we are waiting for the reaction of WAEC. The state government will then assess the situation.”