President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has stated that some tertiary institutions have been given the mandate to return to school to complete the semester.
Schools were closed in March this year when the nation recorded its first coronavirus case. Final year senior high schools and junior high schools were however asked to return to write their exit examinations; West African Senior Secondary Certificate Examinations and Basic Education Certificate Examinations respectively.
Giving his 15th address to the nation on “measures taken against spread of coronavirus”, the president said that “through online learning portals, almost all continuing students in our Universities have completed their studies for the academic year. The exceptions are the University of Cape Coast, the University of Health and Allied Sciences, Technical Universities, and some other Colleges. After extensive stakeholder consultations, the decision has been taken for continuing students in these tertiary institutions to return to school, on 24th August, to finish their academic year”.
He added that all necessary safety precautions would be observed awaiting the coming of the students.
“Just as was done for final year students who returned to school, Government, through the Ministry of Education and the Ghana Education Service, will ensure that all these tertiary institutions are disinfected. Universities will be equipped with the necessary personal protective equipment, and those with their own hospitals and clinics will have isolation centres to deal with any positive cases.
All other institutions, without their own clinics and hospitals, will be mapped to health facilities. There will be no mass gatherings and no sporting activities. Religious activities, under the new protocols, will be permitted. Social distancing and the wearing of face masks must become the norm on campus”.
He added that arrangements are being put in place with the Ministry of Education to ensure the arrival of other continuing students to school.
“The Ministry of Education continues to engage the Ghana Education Service (GES) and all relevant stakeholders to conclude discussions on the modalities surrounding the reopening of our pre-tertiary schools. I will communicate, in due course, the decisions that will be reached from these consultations”, he said.
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