Reverse decision to reopen schools for final year students - Lecturer to Akufo-Addo

The decision by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to allow final-year students at all levels to resume has been described as terrible and a recipe for disaster.

Lecturer and psychologist at the University of Education, Winneba, Mr. Samuel Ziggah made the call when asked his opinion about the decision to have final year students resume.

The lecturer is of the view that we have open the flood-gate for an escalation of more COVID-19 cases.

He wants the president to rescind the decision before we regret the outcome.

He explained after schools were closed, some of the students travelled and asking them to return without proper mechanisms in place to check them would worsen our plight.

"Asking students to resume will worsen our cases. Our healthcare workers would be overwhelmed with more cases. We will have a break down of our health systems and so, I will encourage the president to rescind his decision with immediate effect,” he said.

He added "we are behaving as if the coronavirus is no longer with us but we are still having more cases. The argument put forward by the president before asking students to resume is not reasonable and dangerous for us. We are exposing students and Ghanaians to danger. If it will take two years for the coronavirus to be dealt with, we can wait. Education is not a race.”

For him, there would not be a conducive environment for students to learn as anxiety will set in due to the fear for, the virus.

"This not easy. If our cases escalate, we will regret taking this decision. We do not have what it takes to deal with an escalation. Nurses and doctors are even dying from the virus. How much more citizens,” he lamented.

"No responsible parent will allow his or ward to go back to schools. The parents should resist this decision and protect their children,” he advised.