The Ghana National Education Campaign Coalition (GNECC) says the government’s decision to partially reopen schools for final year students despite the COVID-19 pandemic is a move worth commending.
But as an additional request, the group wants adequate measures to be instituted to ensure that students including those with special needs are not deprived of their rights to education due to the latest development.
GNECC in a statement issued on Monday, June 1, 2020, noted that “schools should be made to maximize the use of available spaces such as school’s assembly halls and laboratories to enable the effective adherence to the social distance safety protocols.”
The President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in his 10th televised address last Sunday, announced the reopening of schools for final year students only to prepare and enable them to take their exit examinations.
This decision the GNECC has welcomed saying, “We commend the President for adhering to the recommendations by stakeholders especially the Teacher Unions and Civil Society Organizations to let the final year learners back to school.”
“We are also grateful that the gold track students who missed on their learning are also going to complete that phase of their academic calendar. However, to ensure no student is left behind, the Ministry of Education should put adequate measures in place to cater for the needs of every student in the school including students with special educational needs,” the coalition stated.
After almost 10 weeks of closure, final year Senior High Schools (SHS) students are now to return to school on Monday, June 22, 2020, whereas their counterparts in Junior High Schools (JHS) will go back to school on Monday, June 29, 2020.
Final year university students are expected to resume school on Monday, June 15, 2020.
With the resumption, JHS 3 classes will now comprise a maximum of 30 students, SHS classes a maximum of 25 students and University lectures will take place with half the class sizes.
Other recommendations
GNECC reechoed its position for the need to ensure that proper measures are put in place before the actual reopening of the schools on the said dates.
“These measures should include the provision of contactless veronica buckets and handwashing stations created in every classroom, the availability of running water in the schools at all times, provision of thermometer guns in all schools and ensure toilet facilities in the schools are disinfected regularly when schools are in session.”
It has requested the Ministry of Education in collaboration with the Ministry of Health to assign a nurse to schools to ensure the consistent monitoring of possible cases in the school environment.
Although teaching and learning activities for all other levels remain closed, the Coalition has also recommended to the Ministry of Education to “continue with the E-learning program for students who are still at home and calling on parents to ensure strict adhering to the COVID-19 safety protocols for the safety of children at home.”