Suspend reopening of basic schools if PPE are not ready – IFEST

The Institute for Education Studies (IFEST) is calling on the Ministry of Education and the Ghana Education Service to suspend the reopening of basic schools till all relevant Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) are distributed to all schools in the country.

IFEST described as “completely unacceptable” that, most of the basic schools are yet to receive any form of PPE as promised by the relevant authorities.

“It is even more shocking because the Ministry of Education and the Ghana Education Service have had the privilege of experiencing the challenges that bedevilled the sharing of this PPE during the partial reopening, last year and should have started the distribution long ago before the reopening date.

"Unfortunately, pupils have had to report to school today without the needed PPE at a time when Covid-19 is in the ascendency in the country,” the group alleged in a statement.

The statement comes as schools resumed today, Monday, 18 January 2021 with a call on students and teachers to obey the COVID-19 safety protocols.

IFEST noted that without PPE both teachers and students are at risk of Covid infection.

“We are, therefore, calling on the Ministry of Education and the Ghana Education Service to suspend the reopening till all schools have received the needed PPE,” the statement said.

It also called on parents and guardians to provide their wards with at least a nose mask and hand sanitiser to enable them to stick to the protocols.

“We believe that the words of those in authority are supposed to be backed by concrete actions and that the practice of having a discrepancy between what a policy directive is and practical happenings on the ground should come to a halt,” the statement added.