Schools should not close down – Education Minister-designate insists

The Minister-designate for Education, Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum, has backed government’s resolve to keep schools open despite the surge in coronavirus cases.

He said the Ghana Health Service (GHS) and the Ghana Education Service (GES) are on top of issues to ensure that students are protected from the virus.

He made this known on Thursday, February 11, when he faced Parliament’s Appointments Committee.

A question on the protection of students and the possible closure of schools just like Parliament has done in the face of the threats of the deadly virus was posed by Member of Parliament for Tamale North Constituency, Alhassan Suhuyini.

Dr Adutwum, who is also MP for Bosomtwi Constituency, said the GES and GHS are ahead of the virus in terms of protection for the school children “and they are doing a very good job in terms of getting ahead of the environment and with that, I will not say schools should be closed down”.

The former Deputy Education Minister also assured Ghanaians that no school will be left out in the distribution of personal protective equipment (PPEs) in the fight against the spread of the deadly virus in schools.

According to him, there will be no discrimination whatsoever in the distribution of the materials to the schools. For him, both public and private schools will benefit from the government’s intervention.

He, however, admitted that there were challenges with the distribution of nose masks and Veronica buckets to schools across the country.

But the military were brought in to help in their distribution.

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s announcement on Sunday, January 3 of the reopening of schools from Friday, January 15 was met with mixed reaction.

Despite an assurance by GES that schools will receive PPEs before the reopening date, some schools did not take delivery of these materials as promised.

Some complained that the situation makes the children vulnerable to the threats of coronavirus.