Cape Coast, June 30, GNA – Junior High Schools (JHS) in the Cape Coast Metropolis reopened on Monday, June 29, amidst strict adherence to Covid-19 safety protocols.
President Nana Akufo-Addo in his address to the nation on Sunday, May 31, announced the reopening of schools including Junior High Schools (JHS) to allow final year students write their exit examinations.
The Ghana News Agency saw from its visits to some schools, quantities of Veronica buckets, hand sanitizers, and strict adherence to social distancing protocols in classrooms.
The schools visited were Pedu M/A Basic Schools ‘A’ and ‘B’, the Jubilee Basic School, Philip Quaicoo Boys’ School, St. Monica’s Girls’ Basic School, William de Graft Methodist School and a host of others.
However, there were no gun thermometer to check the temperature of students and staff and register to take the details of all students with varied identification codes for easy tracing in case of any detection of the virus as done in Senior High Schools.
Also, there were no nurses in the schools, though they had designated quarantine centres, while some trained staff were on hand to ensure compliance, monitoring, and evaluation of measures.
In separate interviews, the school heads encouraged parents and guardians to fully collaborate with school authorities to ensure the safety of all students over the 11-weeks in schools.
This, they said, would effectively complement the efforts of the Government in taming the pandemic among students.
When the GNA arrived at St. Monica’s Girls JHS at 1015 hours, the headmistress, Madam Philomena Charlotte Forson, said more than 100 of the 136 expected students had reported and all the 16 teachers were present and handling the five classes.
She urged parents to provide hand sanitizers and nose masks and ensure their wards were well fed before coming to school.
There was serious academic work in session at Jubilee Basic School, as at 1030 hours with all 42 students and ten teachers present.
Mrs. Judith Akoto, the Headmistress, said the full attendance of both teachers and students was a demonstration of their readiness to excel regardless of the scare posed by the virus.
However, she indicated that they were awaiting the arrival of Thermometer guns and other devices promised by the President in his address to the Nation.
Speaking to Mrs Leticia Saka, the Head of the Philip Quaicoo Boys, the first elementary school in Ghana, she was impressed with the attendance and comportment of students and staff.
The two classrooms have been decongested with a total of 16 students in each class, while students and teachers had their nose masks on during their lessons.
She assured that the School had been affiliated to the Cape Coast Metropolitan Hospital for any suspected case.
Mrs. Dorothy Effie Slippe, the Headmistress of the William de Graft Basic School said it felt good to resume academic work in preparation for the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE), after the long break due to COVID-19.
She assured that all the protocols will be adhered to for the final year students to safely write their exit examination.
Ms. Millicent Efua Anderson, a student, expressed joy for returning to school to meet friends and teachers in good health and to effectively resume classes and write the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE).
GNA