The Federal Government on Wednesday said it had decided to attach the 104 unity schools in the country to government hospitals that are close to them.
The government said where government hospitals are not very close, it would attach the college to private hospitals not more than 500 metres from the gate for rapid response.
The Permanent Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Education (FME), Mr. Sonny Echono, stated these during a briefing to celebrate this year’s World Teachers’ Day in Abuja.
Echono said this would allow for quick response during outbreak of any epidemic or disease within the school.
He said: “We have taken some policy measures in the ministry that all our unity schools must be attached to government hospitals that are at close proximity. Where the government hospital is not very close, we will allow them to also be attached to private hospitals not more than 300 to 500 metres from the gate for rapid response.
The permanent secretary also said some colleges, including Queen’s College, Lagos, would be provided with ambulances for rapid response.
He said the government decided to employ more health personnel to assist the colleges in their clinics.
Echono added: “Unfortunately, we have not reached the stage where we have doctors and the full complement of medical personnel in all our schools. But it is a big community. Going forward, we are looking towards that.
“Right now, most schools are headed by nurses with community attendants. So, some times, that affects the response time and the ability to contain it immediately when they are overwhelmed by huge numbers.
“We have also directed that from next year, all those who do not have ambulances will be provided with ambulances dedicated to attending immediately to health and similar cases. That is under implementation.
“Many of them already have, but some, like Queen’s College, do not have. We are going to be assisting Queen’s College to acquire one in the next few days. We are also engaging a few more health personnel within the level of the ministry’s approval threshold to assist them in their clinics.” (NAN)
