FG should mobilise varsities, research institutes for solution to Covid-19- ASUU
By Modupe Shodeinde
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has called on the Federal Government to mobilise universities and research institutes to find a lasting solution to the Covid-19 infection instead of relying on foreign vaccines.
The Chairman of ASUU, Olusegun Agagu University of Science and Technology (OAUSTECH) Chapter, Dr. Dipo Akomolafe, in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday in Okitipupa, said the government should challenge universities and research institutes with funds for solutions to the deadly disease.
“If our universities and research institutes are mobilised and encouraged by the Federal Government, they will find a solution to the scourge of Coronavirus,” he said.
The Chairman also spoke against the closure of schools as a measure to prevent the spread of the Covid-19 infection.
According to him, “From the presentation of government so far, most deaths recorded from COVID-19 were from the ages of 60 above and the range of youths was not much, so the closure of schools over COVID-19 is not the option.”
However, he urged the government to put in place necessary facilities in schools to make them function safely.
“Government should make necessary provisions of facilities to schools to enable them to function safely and enforce its preventive measures to guide against the spread of the disease,” Akomolafe said.
On Thursday, the Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu, had announced that schools across the country would resume on Monday, Jan. 18, 2021, with strict compliance to COVID-19 protocols
