On 15th March, 2020, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has ordered for the closure of schools across the country due to the outbreak of the Novel Coronavirus pandemic. This has impacted negatively on the Ghana’s educational system since no serious academic activities are ongoing in schools.
The President in his 21st update on measures taken against spread of Coronavirus on Sunday, 3rd January, 2021 said, re-opening of our schools is safe and our children must go to school.
According to him, the lessons drawn from the reopening of some sections of our educational institutions, in the course of last year, have put us in a much better position to oversee successfully the full reopening of our schools. Our children must go to school, albeit safely, and we are satisfied that, in the current circumstances, the re-opening of our schools is safe.
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Nana Addo noted that, his government, in consultation with the appropriate stakeholders, will continue to pursue a strategic, controlled, progressive, safe
easing of restrictions, this time in all public and private basic schools, junior high, senior high, and tertiary institutions across the country, beginning this month of January.
“To facilitate the safety of students, Government, through the Ministry of Education, will provide face masks, Veronica’ buckets, hand sanitisers, liquid soap, rolls of tissue paper, and thermometer guns for the safe re-opening of the schools.” He said.
President Akufo-Addo again said, prior to their return to school, Government through the Ministry of Education and the Ghana Education Service, will ensure that all
institutions, public and private, are fumigated and disinfected. Schools and institutions, with their own hospitals and clinics, will be equipped with the necessary personal protective equipment, and have isolation centres to deal with any positive cases.
Meanwhile, all other schools and institutions, without their own clinics and hospitals, have been mapped to health facilities. There will be, for now, no mass gatherings and no sporting activities. However, religious activities for students at school, under the new protocols, will be permitted.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo finally said the Ministry of Information, the Ministry of Education, the Ghana Health Service and the Ghana Education Service will from Monday, 4th January, commence a series of sensitisation campaigns to help prepare, inform and educate guardians, students and the public on further modalities associated with the re-openings.
