Pope John, others ready for SHS 3 students

Heads of Senior High Schools in the Eastern Region have given the assurance that all necessary arrangements have been put in place to receive both the final-year and Form Two students on Monday, June 22.

The measures include; availability of Veronica buckets, soaps and alcohol-based hand sanitisers among others, to be used by the students and staff members when they return.

Addressing journalists during a disinfection exercise by Zoomlion Ghana Limited (ZGL) on Tuesday, the Assistant Headmaster, Administration of Pope John SHS, Koforidua in the Eastern Region, Mr Kwame Adjapong, disclosed that in addition to the above, room allocation for the students had already been done by the senior house master.

The spraying exercise was part of an arrangement between the Ministry of Education, the Ghana Education Service (GES) and ZGL to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) in the SHSs.

Regarding the seating arrangements in the dining hall, he said the school had resolved to allow six (6) students to sit around every table instead of the usual twelve (12) which used to be the case, adding that “students per class has also been cut down to 25 instead of 50.”

This move, he explained, was part of steps to make sure that the students observe the social distancing protocol.

Mr Kwame Adjapong, who was flanked by the Senior Housemaster, Eric Bampoe and the Assistant Headmaster, Domestic, E.F. Bedjabeng said they had appealed to the old students association to support them with more Veronica buckets, hand sanitisers and facemasks.

He revealed that they were expecting about 1,055 students when the school resumes.

The Headmaster, Academic, Oti Boateng SHS, Francis Terkpertey, who also confirmed his school’s readiness to welcome the final-years and Form Two students indicated that to ensure the adherence of the social distancing protocol, a 12-unit classroom block has been completed.

“Furthermore, we will enforce the physical/social distancing protocol in the dormitories as well,” he assured.

“…we have also bought thermometer guns that would be used to take the temperatures of the students who will be coming. We have also purchased alcohol-based hand sanistisers, Veronica buckets and facemasks which would be given to the students to use,” he revealed.

The Director of Communications and Corporate Affairs, Emma Akyea-Boakye disclosed that her outfit will disinfect 137 SHSs and 1997 basic schools in the Eastern Region.

According to her, the disinfection exercise was the second part of their agreement with the Ministry of Education and the GES.

“We will complete the SHSs coming Friday and the basic schools next week Friday,” she revealed. Our district officers and supervisors have been deployed across the region to supervise the exercise,” she noted.

At the St Roses Pre-School, New Tafo, the Headmistress, Mrs Love Agyapong, said, for a strict adherence to the Covid-19 protocols, her school must run a shift system.

She, however, noted that the school had purchased Veronica buckets, hand sanitisers and nose masks as part of measures to prevent Covid-19 outbreak in the school. In another development Zoomlion Ghana Limited on Thursday, June 11, began the disinfection and fumigation of Colleges of Education in the Northern Region.

 

The exercise was part of measures outlined by the government, through the Ministry of Education in partnership with Zoomlion Ghana Limited, to help curb the new coronavirus disease (Covid-19).

Speaking to journalists on the sidelines of the exercise, the Vice Principal of Tamale College of Education, Mr NuhuImoro, said that the Covid-19 pandemic had indeed disrupted and affected their academic work.

“…and those who have been adversely affected are the final-year students,” the vice principal of Tamale College of Education lamented.

Furthermore, Mr Imoro hinted that the online method of teaching the students has equally not helped that much.

He explained that this was because many of the students did not have have smartphones, adding that some of the students were also having network problems at where they live.

He went on to add that there was also an issue with monitoring effectively the progress of academic work of the students.

According to Mr Imoro, the school will make provision to cater for the students who could not study online.

In this regard, he commended the Education Ministry and Zoomlion Ghana Limited for the exercise.

He indicated that it will help protect the students from being infected with Covid-19.

On observing the Covid-19 safety protocols, he disclosed that the school was in constant touch with the Tamale Municipality on the best approach for the safety of the students.

“For the social/physical distancing protocol, we can practice it effectively because those coming in were only the final-year students,” he stated.

From the Tamale College of Education, the Zoomlion disinfection team moved to the Bagabaga College of Education, Tamale.

On his part, the Vice Principal of the Bagabaga College of Education, Mr Emmanuel Alhassan, indicated that management had put in place adequate measures for the students returning to ensure that they are protected from the virus.

“We will also have medical doctors and nurses who will screen all students before they enter for lectures,” he revealed.

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