The Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) as well as other teacher unions, has suggested to government to reopen schools for the final year students at Junior High, Senior High and tertiary levels to enable them prepare for their transitional examinations.
Miss Philippa Larson who, is the chairperson of the association, GNAT revealing the news to Rite FM said, the proposal was made during a meeting with the President and the Education Minister at the Flagstaff House on Wednesday.
In a meeting to deliberate the possible ways to get students return to their classrooms and lecturer halls, stakeholders are considering a number of measures to ensure pupils and teachers have coronavius free teaching and learning environment.
As teacher union leaders asked government to release the ban on social gathering on final year WASSCE, BECE and tertiary students, they also underscored the need to observe the Covid-19 safety measures by telling the education ministry to provide Personal Protective Equipments (PPEs).
According to Miss Philipa Larson, “final year students at all levels to be made to resume to start preparation towards their exams. However, vacation classes can be organized to engage the other students.”
Advancing her submission, the GNAT chairperson said “students must observe all the Covid-19 protocols such that government should provide the schools with veronica bucket, liquid soaps, thermometer for checking the temperature of both students and teachers, nurses and doctors to be attending to suspected Covid-19 emergency issues.”
Government has shut down all schools and Universities whether public or private following the outbreak of coronavirus in Ghana on March 12, 2020.
This move according to government was in line with measures to ensure public safety and protection for all Ghanaian population.
According to the President, the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Communication were tasked to roll out distance learning modules for students.
In Ghana’s educational setting, continuous reliance on the various online instructional media could return deprived students to tabula rasa.
“It is difficult to assess or evaluate the impact of the online learning on students and pupils. The worst of it is that not everyone can be reached electronically with the instructional materials,” Miss Larson has said.
Rite FM is learning the Minister of Education on behalf of Government, accepted the proposals and promised, it will be considered.
But Government has indicated that “our proposal on testing every teacher and pupil is a huge task because the test kits are limited and expensive since the number of teachers in the country exceeds the total nation wide covid-19 tests conducted
Update according to Ghanahealthservice.org/Covid-19, new cases of 313 were confirmed, pushing the total to 7, 616. Meanwhile, 2, 421 affected persons were reported recovered as death toll remains 34.
The current active cases have also moved to 5, 195.
Source: Akosua Mavis/ritefmonline.org
