Minister of Education, Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh
Government has given day students in the senior high schools who are due to write their final examination a special treat.
According to the Ministry of Education, all day students attending boarding schools will be in the boarding facility when school re-opens on Monday, June 22, 2020.
Extra cost
The extra cost by the government is part of measures to minimise the effect of the coronavirus on their academic work and to enable the students perform better.
Speaking at a press briefing yesterday to explain and outline measures to be undertaken in schools, the Education Minister, Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh, explained that final year SHS students will have six weeks of academic work, after which they will write the special ‘Ghana exams’ by the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) for five weeks.
“They will be there for academic work and revision for six weeks and the Ghana exams by the West Africa Examination Council, we understand, will take five weeks,” Dr Opoku Prempeh said.
Ghana specific
The Minister further explained that the Ghana office of WAEC has been consulted to set the papers specific to the country since other countries in the sub-region are tackling the pandemic and its effects uniquely.
Lessons will start 9am and are expected to end at 1pm, Dr. Opoku Prempeh said.
On the other hand, the session for students in the junior high schools (JHS) preparing for the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) has been scheduled for 11 weeks for teaching and learning, with one week for the final exams.
Conditions
The Minister further announced some restrictions that will be observed in the schools when academic work begins
He said no form of religious activity will be allowed in schools, adding that visitors will not be allowed physical access to their wards at the boarding schools.
“When schools reopen, they will not be available for religious activities. It is simple: we do not want too many interactions so that [should the unexpected happens], we can trace who might have come to the school with virus.
“So we want to make sure that only students and their lecturers are in school. When the junior and senior high schools reopen, there will be no visitors allowed during the period that they are in school. Parents can no longer go and visit their kids for that period,” the Minister noted.
Additionally, there shall be no assemblies or any other mass gatherings.
“Breaks will be had in the class…and class sizes are going to be split to ensure the social distancing. For the senior high, not more than 25 and the JHS not more than 30,” he added.
Tertiary
Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh noted that for final year students at the tertiary level, there will be six weeks of academic work and four weeks for exams.
This is to ensure that all students, including those who did not have access to e-learning during their stay at home, are adequately prepared for their final exam.
Foreign tertiary students who are outside the country and are identified will be allowed to return, granted their countries will allow them to exit.
According to him, his outfit has asked the leadership of the National Council for Tertiary Education to furnish it with the passport details of their final year foreign students to enable the Ministry to make the necessary arrangements for their return.
“If they do come, they will be quarantined for two weeks before they are allowed to continue their academic work,” he said.
Additionally, all final year students in state institutions which have training schools are also expected to reopen on Monday June 15, 2020.
The Minister further noted that there will be provision of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) facilities for all schools as well as washable and reusable face masks for all students and staff.
There will also be mapping of all schools to health facilities.
