The Conference of Heads of
Assisted Secondary Schools (CHASS) is proposing mass COVID-19 testing of
students, teaching and non-teaching staff of Senior High Schools (SHSs) before
they are reopened.
The Conference says with such an exercise, students with the
virus can easily be identified and isolated to prevent them from spreading it
to other students.
It added that given that most SHSs are confronted with
challenges of crowding, innovative options can be explored to maintain the
safety of schools.
The group is thus requesting that plans to reopen schools be
done in stages beginning with final year students to ensure that SHSs do not
become risk areas for contracting COVID-19.
The National President of CHASS, Alhaji Yacoub Abubakari in a Citi
News interview suggested that, when the schools are
reopened “the students and teachers who are supposed to come to the schools
should first be screened and their status known.”
“Those who are negative, they are welcome to come to school
and those who are seen to be positive, immediately the necessary measures are
taken to treat them. While the students are in school, we have also requested
that certain things should be put in place to ensure the safety of the
students. Schools, in general, have crowded situations so we have suggested
that given the current situation that we are in with COVID-19 we should first
of all start by allowing the final year students to come.”
Should schools reopen?
There is a major discussion on whether or not schools should
reopen in the country amidst the COVID-19 outbreak.
The schools have remained closed since March 15, 2020 as part
of the government’s announced measures to curtail the spread of COVID-19.
However, in the past week following the easing of other
restrictions in the country, there are calls for schools to reopen.
Four Teacher unions;
Ghana National Association of Teachers, National Association of Graduate
Teachers, Tertiary Education Workers’ Union and Coalition of Concerned Teachers
in a joint statement have registered their opposition to reopening soon but the
Council for private schools are pushing for the schools to be opened.
Among
their reasons for the reopening of schools, is the financial challenges they
are facing including having to lay-off over tens of thousands of teachers due
to the challenges.
Source: citinewsroom.com
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