St Thomas Aquinas enforces COVID-19 safety protocols

Mr Paul Amoasi Baidoo, the Headmaster of St Thomas Aquinas Senior High School (SHS), on Monday said safety measures are in place to protect final year students returning to prepare for the West African Senior Secondary Certificate Examination (WASSCE).

The second year Gold Track students are also back to school to complete their first semester, in line with the Presidential Directive as part of the gradual easing of the COVID-19 restrictions.

Mr Baidoo said they had taken delivery of Personal Protective Equipment from the Government including Veronica buckets and sanitizers to be placed at vantage points for hand washing as part of the safety protocols.

“We have adhered to all the necessary precautionary measures directed by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo for the students to feel safe amid the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic,” he added.

Mr Baidoo was speaking to the Ghana News Agency during a visit to the school to find out its preparation towards the reopening.

He said the school had adhered to the 25 class size without any difficulty.

“I must say everything is working as planned and we are ready for school activities to start. Currently we have 125 boarders, who are mainly the Mathematics and Science team ….,” he said.

The GNA also visited the Labone SHS, Presbyterian Secondary Commercial School at Nungua, and Nungua SHS on measures put in place to receive the final year and Gold Track second year students.

At the Labone Senior High School, Mr Eric Agyemang, Senior Housemaster for the males, said the School was prepared to receive both the final year students and the Gold Track as adequate measures had been put in place.

“We have cleaned all dormitories to ensure that all the day students are catered for as directed by the President. We have new toilet and other facilities to ensure personal hygiene and safety of the students,” he said.

On the adherence to social distancing in the dormitories, Mr Agyemang said management had spaced the beds to conform to the two meters distance.

He said the school had established a COVID-19 team made up of some teachers and a school nurse to ensure the safety of all for effective teaching and learning.

He said the six weeks period as directed by the President to prepare the final year students for the WASSCE was enough to ensure they were academically and psychologically ready for the exams, which would start in August and end in September.

The school is expecting a total of 830 students.

At the Presbyterian Secondary Commercial School at Nungua, a private school, Mr Ebenezer Nii-Nyarku Dompreh, the Headmaster, said it had 86 final year students and had put in place all the safety protocols.

On the number of students per classroom, Mr Dompreh said the School had enough classrooms to distant the students without infringing on the Presidential Directives.

He said they had all the PPE to ensure the safety of students and teachers as well as an isolation centre if infection was suspected.

At the Nungua SHS the Assistant Headmaster said he could not grant the GNA an interview as he had no permission to do so.

The GNA observed, during the tour, that all students at the schools visited had their nose masks on.

Some of the schools had veronica buckets placed at the entrance for hand washing before entering amidst a registration desk for the students.