Covid-19: Schools in Ghana Reopen for Final Year Students Only

Schools in Ghana are to reopen solely for final year students, the President, Nana Akufo-Addo Dankwa has announced.

The move forms part of measures taken by the government to ease restrictions on activities in the country, as the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic continues.

The President, in his 10th televised address to the nation said final year students are being allowed back to schools, to prepare for their final year examinations.

Final year university students are expected to resume school on Monday, June 15, 2020.

Whereas final year SHS students return to school on Monday, June 22, 2020, their counterparts in Junior High Schools will go back to school on Monday, June 29, 2020.

The reopening of schools, Akufo-Addo said is been allowed in compliance to appropriate enhanced safety protocols.

“All final year students of educational and training institutions, which are being managed by Ministries other than the Education Ministry, are to return to school on 15th June to complete their exit examinations”, the President said.

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 “From Monday, 15th June 2020, the decision has been taken, after engagement with the Teacher Unions, whose co-operation I salute, to reopen schools and universities to allow for final-year junior high, senior high and university students to resume classes ahead of the conduct of their respective exit examinations. Indeed, final year university students are to report to their universities on 15th June; final year senior high school (SHS
3) students, together with SHS 2 Gold Track students, on 22nd June; and final-year junior high school (JHS 3) students on 29th June. JHS 3 classes will comprise a maximum of thirty (30) students; SHS classes a maximum of
twenty-five (25) students, and University lectures will take place with half the class sizes”, he added.

However, teaching and learning activities for all other levels remain closed.

“Again, prior to the opening of schools and universities, the Ministry of Education, and the heads of public and private educational institutions, will fumigate and disinfect their institutions. Each student, teacher, and nonteaching staff will be provided with re-usable face masks by the Ministry of Education. For the avoidance of doubt, all other educational facilities, private and public, for non-final year students, will remain closed. The Minister for Education, in the coming days, will outline, in detail, the specific guidelines for the safe reopening of our schools and universities” Nana Addo noted.