Following the President’s directive for the shutting down of schools and universities across the country and the further extension of the ban on public gathering, the Ministry of Education wants more students to take advantage of the various learning platforms it has made available.
It has been 42 days since students attended school across the country, a situation that is a source of concern for some parents.
Director of Communications for the Ministry of Education, Vincent Ekow Assafuah, elaborating on the learning portal options available indicated that almost all students have been captured in the online platform.
“Well for those who are in senior high school at the moment, for example, senior high school 2, what they have to do is to go to icampusgh.com. And when you go in there, you type in your index number and add the year in which you completed junior high school. So for example, if you completed in 2017, when you type in your index number you add 17 to the index number so you will be able to access it.”
“For those who are also in basic education through to the junior high school, they are also to go through the processes that we have put in place as far as the Ghana learning TV is concerned. If you go to DSTV channel 315 you are going to have some educational materials over there, some classes or lessons will also be going on. And on GoTV channel 150 some lessons are going on there. We have also engaged StarTimes, GTV is also on board so if you rescan your Digi box you are going to have Ghana Learning TV very close to GTV,” he added.
Private schools directed to engage PTAs over online learning concerns
Private schools in Ghana have been directed to engage their Parents and Teachers Associations (PTAs) with regards to concerns raised over online teaching and learning platforms being used as a stop-gap measure following the closure of schools due to the Coronavirus outbreak.
The directive was given by the National Inspectorate Board of the Ministry of Education.
The Board says it has received complaints from parents on the operationalization of the alternative methods of teaching adopted by the schools during this COVID-19 pandemic period.
While applauding the efforts made by the schools, the Board says parents are worried over how they prepare their wards for online classes and how they prepare themselves to support their wards and whether they are to pay the school fees of their wards in full or not.
“The NIB, therefore, is requesting all Private Schools to engage with their Parent Teacher Associations (PTAs) to address these concerns,” it said in a statement.
The Board used the opportunity to remind private schools that an active PTA is a key requirement for certifying schools thus, engaging the Association for quality educational outcomes was paramount.
It quickly warned that “schools without PTAs will not receive a certificate of registration by NIB or their existing certifications will not be renewed.