The Governor of Edo State, Godwin Obaseki has approved the reduction of school days to three times a week for students as a palliative to cushion the effect of fuel subsidy removal.
The development was announced by the Chairperson of the Edo State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) Ozavize Salami on Friday.
Salami explained that the reduction was part of the resolution of a meeting between the state’s Head of Service Anthony Okungbowa and other government officials.
“For the three-day work week, we tried to cluster the school learning days into the first three days of the week. We did not want any gaps for administrative reasons. So, children will come on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday in all basic education schools across the state,” she noted.
She added that the government has already put out modalities to meet up with the school curriculum.
“What we have done also is that we’ve extended the learning time by one hour in primary schools and two hours in junior secondary schools to ensure that the term’s curriculum is achieved,” the SUBEB boss noted.
“So, we have taken the timetable for Thursday and Friday and integrated it into the timetable for Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.”
On his part, the Head of Service explained that while public and civil servants are to work thrice a week, government offices will be opened throughout the week for services.
According to him, workers not on duty will operate remotely.
Edo State is not the only place where the government has taken steps to cushion the impact of the subsidy removal.
Kwara State has also declared a three-day working week for public and civil servants as Nigerians battle a hike in the price of petroleum.
Organised labour is also pushing for the increase of minimum wage and the provision of palliatives to reduce the impact of the removal.
