GNAT says reopening of schools is in order

The Ghana National Association Teachers (GNAT) in Accra, has described the reopening of schools as laudable and urged parents to prepare for their children to go back to school.

"In my opinion, the re-opening is in order because schools cannot be closed perpetually", Mr Nicholas Taylor, of the Administration and Organisation Department of GNAT said.

He, however, called on the government to provide the required materials to make the staying in school safer for the students.

Mr Taylor told the Ghana News Agency in an interview that parents did not have much time to prepare, "so the announcement should have come earlier to allow for time for parents to psych their wards up for the reopening."

"Again, now that basic schools are reopening at full capacity, I don't know how prepared the government is as far as distribution of PPEs to Schools is concerned", he noted.

The GNAT official called on school authorities to ensure social distancing arrangements and constant supply of water.

"We as teachers are prepared and willing to go back to school to continue our work. All we demand of the government is to really put in place the needed measure to avoid putting the lives of Students and Teachers in danger."

Meanwhile, some parents the GNA spoke with were happy with the decision of the government but lamented the cost involved in getting the children back to school at the short notice.

"I asked my children to try on their uniforms this morning and to my surprise, I really have to buy new uniforms for all three children", one parent said.