Coronavirus: Monitoring teams ensuring strict adherence to safety protocols in schools - GES

The Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Ghana Education Service (GES), Cassandra Twum-Ampofo has assured parents and guardians of the strictest adherence to COVID-19 safety protocols in schools.

The Educationist noted that the GES has put monitoring teams in place to visit schools unannounced, to hold school authorities to the highest form of responsibility in safeguarding students.

According to Cassandra, the monitoring teams are in three (3) different categories, to ensure oversight and avoid lapses that can cause the spread of the virus in schools.

Speaking in an interview with Samuel Eshun on the Happy Morning Show, Cassandra Twum-Ampofo said, “We have the district monitoring team headed by the District Director of the Service. And the district monitoring team is also monitored by the regional monitoring team, which is also monitored by the national monitoring team.

The monitoring teams find out if the PPEs have reached all schools and if they’re been used accordingly. They also make sure that safety protocols are enforced to the latter”.

Asked if the GES would close down schools if the country experienced an exponential rise in its positive COVID-19 cases, she indicated that was not their responsibility.

She disclosed that the Ghana Health Service (GHS) is a part of the National Schools reopening team and is responsible for determining if schools should remain open or closed down.

It has been two (2) weeks since school were fully reopened after being closed down in March 2020.

Within the first few days of schools reopening, parents, educational unions and advocacy groups called for the re-closure of schools as they claimed the government was not ready to keep them open.