Senior High Schools in Northern Region hit with low students’ turnout

Correspondence from the Northern Region

Headteachers of some secondary schools in the Northern Region have revealed that student turnout in schools have been low since schools partially resumed on June 20, 2020.

Final year students and second-year gold track students have been asked to return to school to enable the final years prepare adequately ahead of their final exams and the second year to also complete their term.

A visit by GhanaWeb on Thursday, June 25, 2020, to 3 Senior High Schools in the region showed that attendance have been very low.

At the Ghana Senior High School(Ghanasco) only 493 out of 1433 students had reported; at Dabokpa Technical Institute(DABTEC), 90 out of 560 students had reported and Vittin Senior High School was not spared either.

Hajia Amina Musah, Headmistress of Ghanasco indicated that, though the number of students reported has not been encouraging, she was of the hope majority of the students will arrive for classes to effectively commence.

She said they have received their own package of the Personal Protective Equipment(PPEs) as promised by the government which she said, will be enough to cater for the students throughout their stay in school.

She added that the presidential directive to have a maximum of 25 students in a class will be duly observed.

Hajia Amina Musah advanced that an arrangement has been made to have fifteen(15) to a dormitory for the female students and twenty(20) to a dormitory for the male students.

“They will be eating in batches, the form three's(3) will eat and come out and for the form two's(2) to go in and eat. We have a challenge of a fence wall and how to control the movement of students in and out. We have talked to the students and we have told them the need to stay in school, we have told them that the school is more or less a quarantine, there is no entry, no exit, nobody goes out and nobody comes in, so if they stay in school, it will help us reduced the risk of the virus," She explained.

The headmistress was optimistic that, students will abide by the rules and as well observed the protocols, stay in school, and do not attempt to dodge school after haven reported.

“We have told them the consequences of doing that. If you leave the school and we get you, we are going to send you away, until it's time for you to write the exams, and parents will have to escort you to the school to write your exams and they will wait for you and as you finish writing your paper then they take you away so that you don't become a risk factor for the rest of the students.

“We are encouraging them to come, we want them to know that, just as their parents are protecting them, we are equally their parents when they come to school, and we shall also protect them when they come here. They shouldn't fear, they should come." Hajia Amina urged.