Third phase disinfection of SHSs in Central region underway

Senior High Schools (SHSs) in the Central Region have started undergoing another round of disinfection exercise.

The exercise, which began on Wednesday in the region, marked phase three of the national disinfection exercise in SHSs in the country.

The seven-day exercise, which is being carried out by Zoomlion Ghana Limited, in partnership with the Ministry of Education (MoE) and the Ghana Education Service (GES), will cover both public and private SHSs.

It formed part of measures by the government to keep the schools’ environment safe from harmful parasites, micro-organisms, and also precaution in the wake of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in his 16th address to the nation on measures taken to curb the spread of the coronavirus disease announced that second year junior high school (JHS) and senior high school students would return to school from October 5 to December 15, 2020 to enable them complete their academic year.

However, before the reopening. the President as a precaution against the COVID-19 directed the MoE and the GES to make sure all SHSs and basic schools undergo fumigation and disinfection.

Some of the schools that benefited from the exercise on the first day were St Augustine’s College, Wesley Girls’ Senior High School, Swedru Senior High School, Winneba Senior High School and Swedru School of Business.

Dormitories, classrooms, assembly halls, dining halls, school compounds and staff common rooms were thoroughly disinfected in the course of the exercise.

Speaking to journalists, the Assistant Head (Administration) of Wesley Girl’s SHS, Rev Gabriel Kumassah, said in view of the fact that Form Two students would be coming to school for the second semester, it was needful for another disinfection exercise to take place in the schools.

“The earlier one was done before the Gold Track came and completed their academic year, therefore, it was refreshing that our schools are being disinfected again,” he said.

He was particularly delighted at the presence of the state-of-the-art disinfection machines deployed by Zoomlion Ghana Limited.

According to him, he was not much worried about the disruptions in the academic calendar, explaining they could not have helped it because of the ravaging impact of the COVID-19.

However, Rev Kumassah was happy that the country was finding a way to make up for the disruptions in the academic calendar. He reiterated that the school would strictly ensure that the returning Form Two students strictly obey all the safety protocols of the COVID-19.

For his part, the Vector Control Unit Manager for the Central Region, Mr Gideon Sogbey, explained that the essence of the exercise was to control the further spread of the coronavirus.

According to him, Zoomlion was expected to disinfect about 142 SHSs in the region, adding that they will also be including basic schools.

“In every district in the Central Region, we have 4 teams who will be undertaking the exercise,” he revealed.

He firmly gave the assurance that the exercise would help control the spread of the virus, especially in the schools where another batch of students would be converging to learn.

He reiterated the need for the disinfection exercise to be a continuous measure to aid in defeating the virus.

At St Augustine’s College, the Assistant Headmaster Academics (Mr Francis Addo Mensah) who spoke on behalf of the school, commended Zoomlion for doing what he described as a ‘marvellous job.’

“I am very impressed at the work that had been done by the Zoomlion,” he expressed.

He seized the chance to allay the fears of parents of Form Two students, noting that, the school in addition to the disinfection exercise has lined up adequate precautionary measures to keep the students safe form the pandemic.