The National Teaching Council (NTC) has postponed the Teacher Licensure Examinations for March 2020 in accordance with the President’s directive for suspension of all mass gatherings following the outbreak of Coronavirus (COVID19) in the country.
A statement from the Council said a “new date will be communicated hopefully after four weeks.”
Meanwhile, all applicants have been advised to keep their vouchers and other particulars in a safe condition for use when the appropriate time is due.
“Following the emergency measures announced by His Excellency the President of the Republic of Ghana on the 15th of March 2020, regarding the spread of COVID-19, the National Teaching Council (NTC) hereby announces the postponement of the March 2020 edition of the Ghana Teacher Licensure Examination (GTLE), A new date will be communicated as soon as appropriate (hopefully after 4 weeks)”.
After, the announcement that six people in the country have as of Sunday, March 15, 2020, been infected with the coronavirus, stringent measures have been instituted by the government, including restrictions on all public gatherings and closure of basic, secondary and tertiary schools.
Aside from the ban on conferences, workshops, funerals, festivals, political rallies, religious activities, and other related events, President Akufo-Addo in his late Sunday broadcast announced that he had instructed the Health Minister and the Attorney General to work in tandem and submit emergency legislation to Parliament in accordance with Article 21 (4) (c) and (d) of the Constitution.
COVID-19: Government seeks law to punish flouters of public gathering ban
Following the confirmation that six people in the country have as of Sunday, March 15, 2020, been infected with the coronavirus, stringent measures have been instituted by the government, including restrictions on all public gatherings and closure of basic, secondary and tertiary schools.
Aside from the ban on conferences, workshops, funerals, festivals, political rallies, religious activities, and other related events, President Akufo-Addo in his late Sunday broadcast announced that he had instructed the Health Minister and the Attorney General to work in tandem and submit emergency legislation to Parliament in accordance with Article 21 (4) (c) and (d) of the Constitution.
The government through the Attorney General is set to seek parliamentary approval for emergency legislation that will stipulate punishment for groups or persons who go contrary to the national ban on mass gathering following the outbreak of COVID-19 in Ghana.
Information Minister, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, justified the cancellation of some public activities, saying the move is to avert a higher rate of infection among the citizens.
“For the large social gathering, we want to ensure that, people desist from such gatherings and back it with the legal functions. That is why the Attorney General is going to Parliament to request legal sanctions for persons who do not observe these functions. The consideration of the President is that it is better to take the pinch now for the next 14 to 21 days and prevent the spread than allow it to escalate and prevent community spread that will lead to a lockdown of the society.”
“The learning from other parts of the world is that countries that delay in halting mass gatherings have a very high risk of escalating the spread of the virus in a very short time. The major challenge in this pandemic is community spread. So we have to be able to isolate the few imported cases quickly and ensure that, they don’t interact with the general population. But, if we delay in opening a down on major public gathering and allow the population to interact over and over again. In about 14 days after the first case, we will be getting about 300 or 500 cases,” he added.
Cases
Five of the six cases were recorded in Accra with one recorded in the Ashanti Region.
Having been in contact with about 151 people, all the patients have been isolated and are receiving treatment.
The cases were imported. There is yet to be any case of the virus being contracted from another person within the country but experts warn that not observing proper hygiene could lead to such a case.
