Public Gatherings Ban: Reopen Schools For Final Year Students – Teacher Unions

The four teacher unions in Ghana have implored government to reopen schools if need be, for only final-year Junior and Senior high school students

The reason the teacher unions gave being that, these students who were preparing for their final year exams –Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) and the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) – are going through emotional trauma since they are unsure of their next step due to closure of schools.

The President of the GNAT, Ms Philippa Larsen, made this known in an interaction with journalists on the sidelines of the association’s launch of the impact assessment of COVID-19 on education in Accra yesterday.

She said the unions had called for the disinfection of all schools, whether public or private, basic or second cycle, to keep the school environment safe for children and for teaching and non-teaching staff.

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She added that a demand have tabled to have all teachers and schoolchildren supplied with nose masks as part of measures to contain the spread of the COVID-19 in schools.

She said the unions had also asked government to ensure that every school had running water and sanitation facilities, including soap, tissue and sanitisers.

The unions comprise the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT), the Coalition of Concerned Teachers — Ghana (CCT), and the Teachers and Educational Workers Union (TEWU).