The Director-General of the Ghana Education Service (GES), Prof. Kwasi Opoku-Amankwa, has said it will be disastrous for the government to close down senior high schools (SHSs) and send students back home for fear that they will contract the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

Speaking at a press briefing organised by the Ministry of Information to provide an update on the country’s COVID-19 case management situation in Accra yesterday, Prof. Opoku-Amankwa said closing down schools presently was not the right option for the government to consider. 

There have been calls by some parents and political parties for the government to shut down schools in the face of the spread of the virus in schools.

Answering a question on the danger of keeping students in school, the GES boss said: “We believe that the best option is to keep them [students] in school because if we decide to let them go into the bigger society, then we rather have to close down the entire country because if you have a thousand students going into different homes and they are infected, we are not sure of what is going to happen to the larger community." 

 "We are talking about 550,000 students; that is, the Gold Track students plus SHS final-year students, so if we decide to let them all go, I think we will be causing a big disaster to ourselves," he added.

Special arrangement

He explained that the government had put in place measures, including the deployment of the needed resources and logistics, including personal protective equipment (PPE), such as nose masks and hand sanitiser, to ensure the safety of students in the various institutions.

He said most of the students who had been infected by the virus and were currently in isolation were asymptomatic and, therefore, able to engage in studies.

“Originally, the final-year SHS students had two weeks to start their WASSCE, but the President, in his wisdom, said because they had been home for a long time, they should be given more time for revision,” he said.

Prof. Opoku-Amankwa assured parents that students who were unable to write the examination due to poor health would be given the opportunity to register for the same examination at another period at a cost to the government.

“If, for any reason at all, the child is writing the exams and is ill, what the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) does is that it has something called the clemency rule that will be used, so that if you have written English One and cannot write the second paper, it will use the results of the first paper and other factors to award you marks for the second paper,” he explained.

He added that because of all those arrangements, it was not prudent to close down schools under the current circumstances. 

Case count

The country’s positive COVID-19 cases as of yesterday stood at 25,252, according to the Director of Public Health at the Ghana Health Service (GHS), Dr Badu Sarkodie.

Although the number of positive cases had increased, Dr Sarkodie said the number of active cases had significantly reduced over the last few days.

He said there were 3,716 active cases, while figures for recovered and discharged people had risen to 21,391, with 139 deaths.

The new cases were confirmed from 26 districts in six regions.

Govt intervention

The Minister of Information, Mr Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, who answered a question on the government’s strategy to ensure that the rate of infections among the public was reduced, said although the government was determined to protect citizens from getting infected by the virus, the citizens must also take steps to protect themselves.

He said all the safety protocols that had been adopted by the government could not translate into preventing the spread of the virus if citizens failed to comply and act accordingly. 

Parents storm Accra Girls’

Meanwhile, for the second time in two weeks, some frustrated parents went to the Accra Girls’ SHS) yesterday, demanding that the school authorities should allow them to send their children home, reports Jennifer Kwasin

It followed a joint statement by the GHS and the GES late Monday that 55 people in the school had tested positive for the COVID-19.

The statement said: "Accra Girls’ SHS has recorded most cases from the first report to date. As of 13th July, 2020, a total of 314 people (students and staff) from the school had been tested. Out of these, 55 have been confirmed positive for COVID-19, while 259 people tested negative."

 It added that all the infected people had been segregated from other students, while their contacts had been identified and tested.

Resolute

When the Daily Graphic visited the school yesterday morning, a number of parents would not take anything except demand their children.

Dissatisfied with unfolding events, the parents said if the authorities had tested the students and some had come out negative, they should release them, so that their parents send them home to prevent further spread of the virus among the students..

Contrary to what the GES and the GHS were saying, the parents were of the view that the students were not safe because the school had become a hot spot for the virus and unsafe for living.

Parents reiterated the fact that the school authorities were not communicating with them (parents).

Ms Millicent Manu, a parent, said: “We are told by our children that classroom work is no longer in active session, so what are the children still doing in school when the school is no longer safe for them, health wise?”

“If we continue keeping them in school, the spread will increase and the unfortunate may happen to our children,” she added.

Source: Emmanuel Bonney

www.graphic.com.gh

The National Council of Parent-Teacher Associations (NCPTAs) has called on government to as a matter of urgency send home all students and shutdown schools to avert further spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).

The association also want the government to postpone examinations of the final year SHS until further notice.

This was contained in a statement issued and signed by the National President of NCPTAs, Alexander Yaw Danso and copied to the Ghanaian Times yesterday.

According to them, the current circumstances following the increasing number of COVID-19 cases in some Senior High Schools (SHS) did not make it conducive for the students to stay in schools.

"In the current circumstances, the children are psychologically unstable and would therefore, not be of sound mind to write the WASSCE and BECE examinations and come out successfully," he stated.

"We, therefore, suggest that these examinations be postponed till the situation is brought under control," The statement added.

The association further stated that, close observation done indicates that, not all SHS have received the Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs) they were promised.

These according to them among other things put the lives of the children into danger hence the need for the government to immediately shutdown all schools.

It, therefore, urged parents to isolate their wards for the 14-day period after they had returned home

"In the event of students sent home, parents are advised to endeavour to isolate and test their children for the 14-day period before integrating them into the larger family for the sake of everybody's safety," the statement added.

The Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) on Monday, donated 35 life jackets valued at GH¢4,000, to basic school teachers in seven island communities in the Keta municipality.

The beneficiary teachers commute daily from their places of residence elsewhere in the municipality to schools in Bomigo, Genui, Fuveme, Hatorgodo, Wenyagor, Lawoshime and Agorviwofe.

The jackets were presented by Mr Thomas Mensah, Head of Membership Education Department of GNAT, Accra, to Mr David Kattah, Volta Regional GNAT Chairman, at the river bank at Tunu, prior to a tour of the islands by the GNAT team.

Mr Mensah said that the safety of teachers in the deprived communities were of paramount concern to the association, adding, “It is only when our teachers feel safe at their duty posts that they can deliver quality education.”

Mr Mensah stated that GNAT would provide more life jackets and other necessities to teachers in the area soon, to boost their performance in the classrooms.

Pursuant to that, he said that the association was looking into the possibility of acquiring a modern vessel on the river, for use exclusively by teachers in the area.

Mr Mensah gave the assurance that GNAT would constantly be in touch with basic schools in deprived communities, and attend to their needs in pursuance of the fourth Sustainable Development Goal.

At Bomigo, the Assistant Headmaster of the E.P. Basic School, Mr James Atideku thanked GNAT for the support, saying the gesture was highly touching.

The jackets, he said, would definitely help to boost the morale of the teachers and enhance their output, saying: “We hope GNAT officials will visit us here regularly to identify our challenges at first hand and assist us accordingly.”

The assistant headmaster appealed to GNAT for sports kits to support extra-curricular activities in the school, stressing, “In spite of the deprivation, we do very well during competitions with other schools, so we will surely get to greater heights when we are supported with the kits.”

FROM ALBERTO MARIO NORETTI, TUNU

Source:ghanaiantimes.com.gh

June 12, 2019

The Ghana National Commission for UNESCO and Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) marked the 2020 edition of the World’s Largest Lesson with a training workshop for selected teachers in the Greater Accra Metropolis.
The World’s Largest Lesson is observed every year to ensure that every child in the world grows up knowing and caring about the Sustainable Development Goals and is inspired to take action to help achieve them. So far it has reached millions of children in over 100 countries.
The full day workshop comprised activities like orientation on the 17 SDGs and practicals on integrating and adapting the resources and Teaching Learning Materials into lessons.

Speaking at the workshop, Mr Palham Oyiye , Research Officer and National Coordinator on Early Childhood expressed GNAT’s appreciation to the Commission for the collaboration and said he looks forward to more of such in the future.
Participants also spoke of their satisfaction with the programme, adding that they will use the learning and resources from the workshop in their teaching.
Pictures of the event can be found in our gallery.

Visit https://worldslargestlesson.globalgoals.org/ to find resources and training materials for educators.

Source: unescoghana.org/worlds-largest-lesson-2020/

The Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT) and the Coalition of Concerned Teachers (CCT) have declared a strike. The nationwide industrial action is expected to take effect from Monday, December 9, 2019. According to them, checks have revealed that their arrears have been verified and approved for payment by the Controller and Accountant General's internal audit unit but the monies have not been released yet.

They claimed that the Ghana Education Service blamed the delay in releasing the monies on discrepancies in the verified data.

Speaking to the media, the President of the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), Philippa Larsen said teachers deserved better.

 

“We are not prepared to see our teachers suffer as a result of somebody’s negligence. Our pleas have fallen on deaf ears and the status quo remains. We cannot continue to tolerate this. Indeed, for how long shall they ignore our members. The teachers – the purveyors of education, don’t expect us to continue to look on. We can’t stand this. In light of this development, the Ghana National Association of Teachers, National Association of Graduate Teachers, Coalition of Concerned Teachers Ghana, do hereby today [Thursday] declare a strike by our members effective Monday 9th December 2019.”

This is not the first time this year that the teacher unions have embarked on such industrial action to press home their demands.

The groups had also bemoaned the inability of the Ghana Education Service (GES) and the Public Services Commission to facilitate their promotions.

According to NAGRAT for instance, the failure of the Public Service Commission to amend their records has led to delays in promotional interviews.

For CCT, they have been demanding that the GES promotes teachers who are due for promotion and upgrade salaries of teachers who are due for the same.

It also called for the reinstatement of their members who were sent away for minor offences and others who are first-time offenders.

Source: citinewsroom

Teachers in deprived island communities in the Ada East District in the Greater Accra Region have called on the government to improve school infrastructure, provide teachers bungalows and ensure timely distribution of supplies and logistics to encourage the retention of teachers posted to the schools on the island.