GES shuts down Schools for BECE, WASSCE Candidates after WAEC’s Indefinite Suspension of WASSCE 2020

The Ghana Education Service (GES) has ordered for an immediate closure of Schools and calls for all WASSCE Candidates to go home.

The Ghana Education Service made this known in a statement issued by the Director-General Prof Kwesi Opoku Amankwa on Friday, March 20, 2020.

His directive came after the West African Examination Council (WAEC) sent an inter-office Memorandum to all member countries, calling for an indefinite suspension of the 2020 WASSCE due to the Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic.

BECE Candidates

With regards to the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) candidates, the Ghana Education Service said it is still in talks with WAEC on the fate of the Examination.

It further directs, that all Schools opened for classes for BECE Candidates should be closed by Monday, March 23, 2020.

The GES assured, that it shall alert the general public on the fate of the BECE 2020 after it’s meetings with WAEC.

WAEC Suspends WASSCE 2020

The West African Examination Council (WAEC) earlier, postponed the 2020 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) for School Candidates Indefinitely over Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic.

In an inter-office Memorandum released by the Chairman of the Examination Council to member countries on Friday, March 20, 2020, WAEC said it has suspended the Time Table for the 2020 WASSCE.

Teachers’ agitations

Earlier, some four teacher unions had asked the government to reconsider its decision to allow Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) and West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) to continue going to school despite the decision of the President to shut down all Schools due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic.

The Teacher Unions include the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT), Teachers and Education Workers Union (TEWU) and the Coalition of Concerned Teachers-Ghana (CCT-GH).

GNAT Calls for Protective gears

Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) said it shall engage the Ghana Education Service (GES) to discuss plans for the deployment of occupational health and safety kits to protect teachers against the novel coronavirus.

GNAT wants government to as soon as possible provide its members with Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs) as detailed in section 118 of the labour law.

NAGRAT calls for a total shut down

The National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT) also pushed for the government to order all final year students in junior high and senior high schools and their teachers to go home.

President of NAGRAT, Angel Carbonu, however, said the decision to keep the final year students and teachers on campus is unacceptable.

ATAG supports government

All Teachers Alliance Ghana (ATAG) a pre-tertiary teacher union has stated emphatically, that it disagrees with the stance of some four teacher unions, who said the government should allow the final year WASSCE and BECE Candidates to go home due o the Coronavirus Pandemic.

In a statement issued by its general secretary, Albert Dadson, on March 17, 2020, the Union claimed the stance of the other four Unions on the CoronaVIRUS was misplaced.

Source: EducationGhana.net

Coronavirus: Akufo-Addo suspends weddings, funerals, church services and closes schools

The government of Ghana has suspended all public gatherings in the country with immediate effect following the recording of six confirmed Coronavirus diseases (COVID-19) in Ghana as of Saturday, March 14, 2020.

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo made this known in a televised national address Sunday night [March 15, 2020].

He said the new directives follows an earlier meeting of Inter-Ministerial Committee on Coronavirus response which he chaired and it deliberated on the issues.

"I have decided, in the interest of public safety and protection of our population, to review the public gathering advisories earlier announced."

He said among the gatherings suspended are church services, weddings, funerals, other social gatherings.

All universities, senior high schools and basic schools - public and private schools will be closed Monday March 16, 2020 till further notice.

The Ministry of Education in collaboration with the Ministry of Communication has been tasked to roll out distance learning programmes.

However, BECE and WASSCE candidates will be allowed to attend school to prepare for their examinations, but with prescribed social distancing protocols, President Akufo-Addo said.

"You may recall that on Wednesday, 12th March 2020, when I first spoke to you directly on this matter, I announced the first raft of enhanced measures taken in response to the pandemic. At the time, there had been no reported, confirmed case of the Coronavirus in Ghana," President Akufo-Addo said.

He said since then, six confirmed cases have been announced, all of persons who recently traveled into Ghana.

He said advisories on how to manage the developments have also been announced by the Ministries of Health and Information and that public education is being intensified to ensure that citizens are well advised on preventive measures.

Summary of the Directives from President Akufo-Addo

1. All public gatherings, including conferences, workshops, funerals, political rallies, sporting events and religious activities, such as services in churches and mosques have been suspended for the next four weeks. Private burials are permitted, but with limited numbers, not exceeding 25 in attendance.
2. All Universities, senior high schools and basic schools, i.e. private and public schools will be closed Monday March 16, 2020 till further notice. The Ministry of Education in collaboration with the Ministry of Communication has been tasked to roll out distance learning programmes. However BECE and WASCE candidates will be allowed to attend school to prepare for their examinations but with the prescribed social distancing protocols.
3. The government of Ghana travel advisory issued earlier today should be observed as announced
4. Businesses and other work places can continue to operate. They should observe prescribed social distancing between patrons and staff.
5. Establishments such as supermarkets, shopping malls, restaurants, night clubs, hotels and drinking spots should observe enhanced hygiene procedures that provides hand sanitizers, running water and soap for washing of hands.
6. The Ministry of Transport should work with the transport unions in private and public transport operators to ensure enhance hygienic conditions in vehicles and terminals by providing among others hand sanitizers, running water and soap for washing of hands.
7. The Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development should coordinate with the Metropolitan and Municipal and District Assemblies measures to enhance conditions and hygiene in markets across the country.

President Akufo-Addo said additionally, as the experts conduct contact tracing, "I appeal to all to cooperate with them to ensure that persons who have come into contact with positive cases are identified and supported.

He said he has directed the Attorney General to immediately submit to Parliament an emergency Legislation in accordance with Article 21 to help enforce all the measures announced.

He said he has further directed the Minister of Health to exercise his powers under section 169 of the Public Health Act, 2012, Act 851 by the immediate issuance of an Executive Instrument to govern the relevant and called on Parliament to support the Executive in "national endeavour."

Not ordinary times

"As I said earlier, there is every need to observe prescribed social distancing and good personal hygiene to prevent community spread.

"We are determined to do whatever we can to prevent the spread of the virus and protect the population."

The President said all the measures announced will be subject to constant review and enhancement if necessary. Fellow Ghanaians, these are not ordinary times, so let us all put our shoulders to the wheel and I'm confident that together, by the grace of God we shall overcome this challenge. May God bless us all and our homeland Ghana and make us great and strong. I thank you for your attention."

Source: https://www.graphic.com.gh  

National Coordinator of School Feeding Programme sacked

The former National Coordinator of the Ghana School Feeding Programme (GSFP), Dr Kwame Adu-Nsiah, who was exonerated from allegations of “fictitious deals” in the management of the programme, has been laid off.

In his place, Mrs Gertrude Quashigah, who has been acting in that position for about a year, has been confirmed as the substantive national coordinator of the programme.

Allegations

Dr Adu-Nsiah was suspended in December 2018 over allegations that he had supervised “fictitious deals” in the management of the school feeding programme.

However, a committee that was set up by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to probe the issue exonerated him from any wrongdoing after almost one year of investigation.

The committee, which was chaired by the Senior Minister, Mr Yaw Osafo-Maafo, recommended that he should be reinstated with all his entitlements restored to him.

Alternatively, the committee said Dr Adu-Nsiah could be taken back to the Trust Hospital, from where he was seconded to the GSFP or be reassigned to another institution within the public sector.

Checks

Four months after the committee submitted its report, checks by the Daily Graphic revealed that Dr Adu-Nsiah had been laid off from the GSFP but he had not been taken back to the Trust Hospital or reassigned to any public institution.

The paper also found out that, a letter dated December 24, 2019, from the Presidency and signed by the Executive Secretary to the President, Nana Asante Bediatuo, confirmed Mrs Quashigah as the substantive coordinator.

When contacted, Dr Adu-Nsiah confirmed that he had been officially laid off from the GSFP and was waiting for any directives on the next line of action.

“They have communicated to me officially to move out of office and I have done so. I have not been asked to go back to the Trust Hospital or reassigned. I am still waiting to see what will happen,” he said.

Good move

For his part, the head of Public Relations at the GSFP, Mr Siiba Alfa, described the appointment of a substantive coordinator as “good news” because “it has brought closure to the brouhaha surrounding the school feeding programme.”

“Mrs Gertrude Quashigah has been acting as the coordinator of the GSFP since the beginning of 2019 when these issues were ongoing so the confirmation is a big boost to the effective management of the programme,” he said.

He called on all stakeholders to give Dr Quashigah the necessary support to manage the GSFP in a manner that would make the desired impact on the beneficiaries.

Concerns

Meanwhile, caterers under the GSFP have expressed concerns about the delay in payment for meals cooked, saying that the development has made it difficult for them to feed the children.

Some of them, who spoke to the Daily Graphic from the Greater Accra, Volta and Oti regions, said they were owed salaries between six and nine months.

They said they were being harassed by their creditors over unpaid debts.

Assurance

However, Mr Alfa assured the caterers that pragmatic steps were being taken to pay all salaries owed them.

“We have paid the caterers up to the third tern of the 2018/19 academic year. There are a few who may not have received the money because of documentation issues but about 99 per cent have received it.

“We want to assure them that we are processing the data for the first term of the 2019/2020 academic year so they will be paid very soon,” he said.

Background

Dr Adu-Nsiah was suspended over allegations of involvement in alleged “fictitious deals” in the payment of caterers of the programme.

He was asked to step aside on December 13, 2018 after a National Security investigation reportedly implicated him in what was described as “fraudulent deals” in the running of the feeding programme.

A letter addressed to the then coordinator, signed by the Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection (MGCSP), Ms Cynthia Morrison, and dated December 13, 2018 accused him of inflating figures on schools under the programme.

He was subsequently directed to hand over to his deputy by the close of Friday, December 14, 2018.

Following his suspension, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo set up a three-member team under the chairmanship of the Senior Minister, Mr Yaw Osafo-Maafo, to investigate the matter

Source: https://educationghana.net

Education On The Deadly Coronavirus Is Not A Classroom Affair, SHUT DOWN GES SCHOOLS

Dear, Prof. Kwasi Opoku-Amankwa- Director-General of Ghana Education Service (GES). I salute you and wish to draw your attention to some issues regarding the Coronavirus Pandemic and the need to shut down public schools you superintend over. I hope avidly that this letter gets to your attention. I am encouraged to write to you as a concerned citizen and not a sitting- on- the -fence spectator.

Prof. Opoku-Amankwa, I saw a copy of your administrative directive or letter number GES/DG/245/20/113 dated 13^th March 2020 and addressed to all Regional Directors of Education. You gave this directive in your capacity as the Director- General of the GES. The caption of your directive under reference reads, Education On Coronavirus Prevention In Schools. In this correspondence, you impressed upon your District Directors of education as well as school heads to liaise with the various District Directors of Health Service for a smooth education on the virus, using the education materials both the GES and the Ghana Health Service (GHS) have developed on CONVID-19.

However, I hold an opposing view to your directive hence this open letter to you. Prof. Opoku-Amankwa, life is the most precious gift from God hence no hope exists without life. Academic pursuits and other endeavours thrive on life and good health. Again, life is like an egg so once it is broken, one cannot bring it back. So far, Ghana has recorded two (2) positive cases of the Coronavirus, an indication that we are not excluded from the effects of the pandemic as declared by the World Health Organization (WHO). It is in this regard that we must take strict actions for the pandemic has been declared as a state of emergency in some other countries so we are not in normal times globally. We must not make the mistake that Europe and for that matter Italy had made in handling the pandemic, Prof. Opoku-Amankwa. The Holy See located within the Vatican City has equally scrapped compulsory Sunday Mass in Italy as a drastic step to stop the Coronavirus. Even the universally present Catholic Church with the Pope at its pinnacle has taken such a shutdown action so why not Ghana?

D-G, death is staring at Ghana in the form of the Coronavirus so we must not be using weaker weapons. We must not attempt to kill a lion with a catapult when we have the time and other resources to own a gun for the purpose. The biggest preventive measure in my view under the circumstance, Prof. Opoku-Amankwa, is to shut down the GES schools and not to keep the schools in session and be doing health education on the pandemic disease. The public is somehow educated now on the disease. What we need now are strict preventive measures such as shutting down the schools before it is too late and not the distribution of education materials alone as you are doing currently. Education on the Coronavirus must not be a crowded classroom affair.

The whole world panics at the mention of the Coronavirus, Prof. Opoku-Amankwa, so let us not play the strong man or the ostrich here. Let us take counsel from Ola Rotimi’s assertion- in his book The Gods Are Not To Blame - that the butterfly must not think himself a bird. 

Even within the hegemonic boundaries of America, President Trump declared that the Coronavirus pandemic has necessitated a national public health emergency in that country. As a result, schools in 12 of the 50 (24%) states in America have been shut down to millions of students. 

Even America, the world’s superpower at various fronts worldwide panics at the Coronavirus so how can Ghana portray to be that resilient with health education in schools instead of shutting down those schools? After all, we know the unfortunate nature of most of the GES schools. We also know of the crowded classrooms and compromised environmental hygiene in most of the GES schools.

Play Video

It is true, Prof. Opoku-Amankwa, that the Easter breaks are near but because we do not know how fast the virus may sweep through Ghana, we need to act swiftly. Knowing that Ghana is currently holding 2 positive cases and the situation may worsen, we can give the exam questions as home works to the students and pupils or cancel the exams and let the pupils and students go home before it is too late. The impact on the academic curriculum will not be that big. Even if it is big, it is nothing compared to death or massive infections. After all, even in the late 1990s, the public universities went on a long strike but we were back on track.

Let us not wait till we sing “had I known” at the end. It should not be lost on us that some private schools especially the international schools in the country have started shutting down. Globally, planned gatherings of people are being cancelled and schools are being shut down. Just yesterday, Prof. Opoku-Amankwa, the Government of Portugal ordered a nationwide shutdown of all schools in order to contain the Coronavirus. So what are you waiting for as the D-G of the GES to act similarly and expeditiously? America, Belgium, Costa Rica, Qatar and many other countries had taken similar preventive measures to save their people. Let it not be told that under his competent watch, Prof. Opoku-Amankwa acted differently and not proactively so the negative effect is deadly for Ghana.

Prof.Opoku-Amankwa, this is the reason why you need to shut down the GES schools immediately. The advice that we should not panic is no more working. Even the well developed countries with advanced healthcare systems are panicking at the Coronavirus. President Trump of America panics so he has quickly put stringent measures in place to protect the American people. To say and act as if Ghana panics not, is a mendacity of a sort to me. Consider closing down the schools now and send the children home before they become infected in the crowded classrooms. The alarming situation calls for proactive measures and not kneejerk approaches in despair. Time to act is now, Prof.Opoku-Amankwa.

~Asante Sana ~

Author: Philip Afeti Korto.

Email: afetikorto@yahoo.com 

Source: https://www.modernghana.com

Suspend all public activites – GES directs school heads amid coronavirus fears

The Ghana Education Service (GES)  has directed heads of schools to suspend all activities that require large gatherings.

In a communique after a meeting with the Ghana Health Service, Director-General of the GES, Kwasi Opoku-Amankwa said “public activities such as Speech and Prize-Giving Days” must be suspended “until further directives are given by the Director-General.”

Prof Opoku-Amankwa disclosed that educational materials have been prepared in collaboration with the Ghana Health Service for circulation and education in all schools.

The GES has taken the decision as Ghana records two cases of the deadly coronavirus.

The cases, according to the Health Minister, Kwaku Agyeman-Manu, were confirmed on Thursday, March 12, 2020.

The two – a Ghanaian who was returning from Turkey and a Norwegian Diplomat – tested positive for the virus.

“Laboratory results of the two confirmed cases were received at the same time from the Noguchi Memorial Institute of Medical Research.

“Both individuals returned to Ghana – one from Norway and the other from Turkey – so these are imported cases of COVID-19,” Mr Agyeman-Manu said.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared COVID-19 a global pandemic.

Globally, there have been 134,511 cases recorded and at least 4,970 deaths.

The Ghana Education Service (GES)  has directed heads of schools to suspend all activities that require large gatherings.

In a communique after a meeting with the Ghana Health Service, Director-General of the GES, Kwasi Opoku-Amankwa said “public activities such as Speech and Prize-Giving Days” must be suspended “until further directives are given by the Director-General.”

Prof Opoku-Amankwa disclosed that educational materials have been prepared in collaboration with the Ghana Health Service for circulation and education in all schools.

The GES has taken the decision as Ghana records two cases of the deadly coronavirus.

The cases, according to the Health Minister, Kwaku Agyeman-Manu, were confirmed on Thursday, March 12, 2020.

The two – a Ghanaian who was returning from Turkey and a Norwegian Diplomat – tested positive for the virus.

“Laboratory results of the two confirmed cases were received at the same time from the Noguchi Memorial Institute of Medical Research.

“Both individuals returned to Ghana – one from Norway and the other from Turkey – so these are imported cases of COVID-19,” Mr Agyeman-Manu said.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared COVID-19 a global pandemic.

Globally, there have been 134,511 cases recorded and at least 4,970 deaths.

Source: https://educationghana.net/

MoE,GES receive 365 double cabin Isuzu pickups and 493 motorbikes support from GETFund

The Government through the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) has presented a total of 365 double cabin Isuzu pickups and 493 motorbikes to the Ghana Education Service (GES) and other agencies under the Ministry of Education.

These presentations according to the Vice President, H.E Alhaji Dr Mamudu Bawumia, is a continuous demonstration of government’s commitment to ensuring that logistics are available to Institutions for their efficiency and effective administration

All two hundred and sixty (260) District Education offices have been allocated a pick up each and a number of motorbikes for circuit supervision.

These vehicles have arrived timely as Education Directors, particularly, the newly created Districts for some time now decried the absence of vehicles and motorbikes for operational purposes.

 “It’s the expectation of government that these vehicles will go a long way to promote quality supervision in our schools to inure improved learning outcomes”, the Vice President remarked.

The Director-General of the Ghana Education, Prof Kwasi Opoku Amankwa, in an appreciation remarks, promised on behalf of his Directors to put the vehicles to good use to be able to realize the desired outcomes out of the usage of the logistics.

Source: https://www.educationghana.net/

New CCP Curriculum meant to Produce Patriotic Citizens – NaCCA

The Executive Secretary of the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NaCCA), Dr. Prince Hamid Armah has said that the purpose of the New Common Core Program (CCP) Curriculum for JHS 1 to SHS 1 is to help produce children that are patriotic and have love for their country.

Dr. Hamid, who was speaking at the stakeholders engagement on the New Common Core Program on Friday, 28 February 2020, indicated that the need to put in more resources into the new curriculum was to produce children that are critical thinkers and team players who can help solve the nation’s problems in the future.

According to him, the curriculum has made room for training the learners to understand the need to be patriotic, to prevent them from being used for political vandalism and unnecessary political affiliations.

He further indicated that the learners shall be trained to be problem solvers who can communicate their ideas effectively.

About the CCP Curriculum

The Common Core Programme is a four-year educational programme designed to offer learners in Basic 7 to Basic 10 (JHS1 – SHS1) the opportunity to prepare for higher education and the world of work or both.

It’s made up of nine learning areas, namely: Languages, Mathematics, Science, Creative Arts and Design, Computing, Career Technology, Physical and Health Education, Social Studies and Religious and Moral Education.

The Executive Secretary of NaCCA, Dr. Prince Hamid Armah, in his address outlined the rationale, mission and vision of the Common Core Programme.

Source: EducationGhana.net

GES blame poor BECE results on Free SHS and teacher absenteeism

Ghana Education Service (GES) Municipal Directorate for Wenchi Municipality in the Bono Region has blamed the poor BECE grades obtained by students in the area on Nana Addo’s free SHS, teacher’s absenteeism amongst others.

David Baffoe who is the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Wenchi Municipal Directorate of the Ghana Education Service noted that the attitude of teachers and pupils not attending school regularly continues to affect the performance of pupils in the BECE.

He added that in 2017, the Municipality recorded 68% in the BECE, 67% in 2018 but in 2019 the municipality recorded as low as 25% in the exams.

On why his office also blames the free SHS policy, he revealed that because the policy is pushing everyone to school, the students in the area are no more studying because they know whether they fail or not they would still attend SHS.

He, however, noted that the Free SHS policy is good for promoting education just that the pupils have taken advantage of it to not pull their weight.

To improve the performance, he noted that the Municipality was taking various measures such as punishing absentee teachers and checking truancy on the part of pupils.

“The teachers are the drivers of the curriculum. If things will go well, it depends on them. We are putting in place measures to ensure that the absenteeism of teachers is minimized. We had some teachers in some circuits absenting themselves up to 28 days out of the 70 days. Teachers must live up to expectation to be able to improve on the performance of the pupils”

Source: https://www.ghpage.com/