COVID-19: PTA Council cautions gov’t against reopening schools

The National Council for Parent-Teacher Associations (NCPTAs) has appealed to government to further delay the reopening of schools in the country in the wake of COVID-19.

According to the Council, there is no scientific and fact-based basis to believe that coronavirus spread in Ghana is reducing hence the need to tread cautiously.

It comes days after Private schools in the country advised government gainst wholesale reopening of schools as the country continues to fight the virus.

In a statement, the NCPTAs said considerations about schools’ reopening should be delayed until August and September.

“NCPTAs on behalf of parents believes that it is premature to reopen schools for the following reasons:  There is no sufficient evidence based on science and data from the Ghana Health Service (GHS) and other credible health agencies that the infection rate has taken a nosedive consistently to acceptable levels to warrant schools reopening.

“Parents foresee a huge difficulty in ensuring strict compliance of the protocols among children particularly the social distancing, wearing of nose masks for long hours and getting results on time for the proposed regular testing before students move in and out of school premises daily,” a statement signed by National President Alexander Yaw Danso said.

It added: “Day students both at Basic and Senior High School (SHS) walk long distances to and from school in groups. Others board public buses to and from school. These scenarios highly expose our students to the Coronavirus.

“We fear that this strategy extraordinaire of government as reason for the reopening could rather endanger the irredeemable lives of our children, teachers and other workers in our schools. The existing congestion in most of our schools due to lack of infrastructure, running water and insanitary conditions are glaring”.

Meanwhile, government says that reports circulating that it will soon reopen schools across the country are untrue.

Government says it is instead engaged in consultation on when and how to reopen schools.

Speaking at the Information Ministry’s press briefing last week, Minister for Information, Kojo Opong Nkrumah said “with the greatest of respects it is not correct. Government is not saying that schools are to reopen soon. What we are saying is that consultation on what it takes to reopen schools is what we are currently engaged in.

Source: Ghana/Starrfm.com