Disinfect schools on quarterly basis - Upper East Region school heads appeal to govt

Senior High Schools and Basic schools in the Upper East Region on Friday, January 8, 2021, witnessed a massive disinfection exercise ahead of schools reopening on January 15.

As part of preventive measures to curb the Coronavirus pandemic, President Akufo-Addo in his 21st address on the coronavirus pandemic on Sunday, January 3, 2021, officially declared the reopening of schools.

A teacher at Akantome Primary School located in the Bolga Municipality in her address expressed her overwhelming gratitude to the authorities in charge of the exercise.

"I'm very happy about the good work done by Zoomlion Ghana Limited and I hope it will continue to help curb the pandemic. On behalf of the schools in the region, we would like to appeal to the authorities, especially the government led by President Akufo-Addo to consider embarking on this exercise every quarter to ensure the virus is defeated once and for all".

"As you can see, there is no potable water in the school and this is one of our major challenges. Teachers do not have bungalows so we will use your platform to appeal to the government and the Minister of Education Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh to come to our aid now," she added.

She then pleaded with the Ministry of Education (MoE) to furnish them with adequate desks, textbooks for both teachers and the students.

The Regional Vector Control Director, Mr. John Baptist Asinvim commended the Zoomlion disinfection team for their assiduous efforts.

"50 senior high schools,1206 basic schools, and 7 universities will benefit from the exercise in the region and I can assure you that the schools are safe to welcome the students back," he said.

Mr. Martin Ameseya Atanga, a teacher at the Akantome Junior High School hailed Zoomlion Ghana Limited and the Government, Ministry of Education, and Ghana Education Service for their selfless efforts.

"It helps us to stay away from the COVID-19. The school as we prepare to welcome students back have put some precautionary measures in place to protect both the teaching staff and students from the virus," he remarked.

"We have to commend Zoomlion Ghana Limited for their great works this is the second time we are seeing them in our school with this exercise and it's our prayer that God blesses them and the government. The government should however consider assigning Zoomlion Ghana Limited to disinfect the schools quarterly to help both students and teachers to stay away from the spread of COVID-19," he added.

He, therefore, appealed to the government to improve the infrastructural capacities of the school by giving them a library and borehole for water.

Bolgatanga Technical Institute (BOTECH), Akantome Primary School, Akantome Junior High School all in the Bolgatanga Municipality benefited from the exercise.