After ten months of closure, the temperature controls and compulsory wearing of masks as schools in Ghana reopen for the 2020/2021 year. The academic calendar shutdown was in response to the coronavirus outbreak in March last year.
The education ministry of the country and other stakeholders ensure adherence to health protocols.
“We don’t make time for learning unless maybe those students who are passionate and know what they really want to do. So going back to school is really helpful. It’s going to allow us to restart everything and we are going to get our academic life back on track”, Stephen Anyetei, a student said.
There are mixed reactions as the government declared a night ago the reopening of schools. It comes as Covid-19 cases in this West African nation have reportedly surged.
“It will affect their education background. The children, some of them have even forgotten there is something called school. And it is now our duty to bring them up, to invite them, psychologically, mentally and everything”, Isabella Essel, a headmistress said.
The tally of currently-infected people has nearly doubled in a month, to 1,924, according to Ghana’s Health Service. The overall figure of infections since the start of the pandemic is 58,000, but this is widely believed to be conservative as testing is low.
On Sunday, President Nana Akufo-Addo warned that the country may return to a partial lockdown if residents do not adhere to safety and health protocols.
According to Ghana’s Health Service, the number of currently infected individuals has almost doubled in a month, to 1,924. Since the beginning of the pandemic, the estimated number of infections is 58,000, although this is generally considered to be conservative as testing is poor.
On Sunday, President Nana Akufo-Addo cautioned that if citizens do not adhere to safety and health protocols, the nation may return to a partial lockdown.
‘’ We have seen an upsurge in the number of active cases, from a little over 900 to 1,924. Our Covid-19 treatment centres have gone from having zero patients to now being full because of upsurge in infections’’ he said.
Meanwhile, for the 2020/2021 academic year, private schools have raised tuition. A change that has increased parents and guardians’ concerns.
Educator, writer and legal researcher at Alafarika for Studies and Consultancy.