Coronavirus: Allowing 2nd-year Gold Track students to re-open dangerous – Group

Kofi Asare, Executive Director Africa Education Watch, an NGO monitoring whether schools are observing the safety protocols laid down after re-opening, says it has observed that the addition of the second year gold track students to final year students is dangerous.

The President of the Republic of Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo asked all Senior High Schools in the country to dedicate a dormitory each to serve as isolation centres.

This is in line with the reopening of SHS’s for final year students, and across the country to prepare for their exit exams.

Addressing Ghanaians in the 12th Covid-19 update address, the President said this move will help the government to give medical attention to students who might be infected with the virus.

“I want to assure all parents that the government will protect the children going back to school”, the President added.

In an interview on Atinka FM’s with host Ekourba Gyasi, Executive Director Africa Education Watch Kofi Asare noted that the schools cannot accommodate day students in boarding houses like the President said due to the addition of the 2nd year gold track students to the re-opening.

He argued that some of these schools already lack adequate boarding facilities and they cannot accommodate additional students.

According to him, failure to monitor the movements and activities of students who would not be able to obtain accommodations in their respective schools will be detrimental.

“We proposed for only final year students to be allowed to re-open to enable them to write their final year exams, but I think GES also added the 2nd year gold track students. If only final year student re-opened the day students would have gotten accommodation but the second year gold track students too may even outnumber. Some of these schools have even started converting their halls into the dormitories” he explained.

He called on the schools to strictly observe the safety protocols.

Reacting to the issue of Day Students, Executive Director for Ghana National Council of Private Schools (GNACOPS), Enoch Gyatua, said schools with an overwhelming number of day students can allow them to remain as day students and take them through enhanced protocols to ensure safety.