Kwara State chapter of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) yesterday declared that teachers in the state would not resume on September 22, 2014, until all provisions to prevent Ebola Viral Disease (EVD) were made by government.

This is against the directive of the state government which had said that both public and private schools in the state should resume on Monday, September 22, 2014.

The state Commissioner for Education, Alhaji Saka Onimago, had asked all schools to provide basic hygiene materials including washing bowls, soap and towels, just as the government directed two teachers from each school in the state to undergo training on Ebola Prevention, as soon as the Federal Ministries of Health and Education provide necessary facilities.

However, a statement signed by the state chairman, the Secretary and the Publicity Secretary, Comrades Musa Abubakar, Ola Idris, and W. A. Jogbojogbo and made available to journalists in Ilorin on Friday said the union had noted the inadequate measures taken by the government so far in schools and was of the opinion that schools could not resume on Monday, September 22, 2014.

The union, which called on all stakeholders in the education sector to be proactive in tackling the Ebola scourge, appealed to government at all levels to use qualified health personnel to train teachers to forestall outbreak of EVD.

The union also said that hand sanitisers and infra-red thermometers should be provided in schools, adding that there was need for proactive measures in schools to safeguard health of teachers and pupils/students.

"Stakeholders should focus more on preventive measures so that there would be no epidemic in our state. Therefore, teachers shall not resume until all these provisions are made in our schools", the statement read.