Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in education in the Northern region have cautioned Ghana Education Service (G.E.S and government to tread cautiously in the reopening of schools, scheduled for January next year.
The CSOs believe the grounds are not total ready for the children to return to school safely.
Information about G.E.S preparedness towards reopening, the CSOs noted, have not be properly communicated to School Management Committee, Parent Teacher Associations and other key stakeholders.
They also raise concerns about overcrowding which will defy covid-19 safety protocols.
The CSOs mention inadequate furniture, poor state of some of the schools and no proper measures to welcome teenage and expectant mothers who got pregnant during covid-19 period back to school as key issue which should be properly address before the reopening date.
They are not also sure of the testing regime in the schools and call for clear commitment and guidelines from Ghana health service and government in order that parents do not endangered the lives of their children.
According to unicef, about 9.2million children from basic schools in Ghana have been affected by covid-19. The pandemic disrupted academic calendar leading to 8 months gap in contact hours.
These gaps, the CSOs say need to be breach to ensure quality and continuation of the children’s education.
The have also suggested to government to consider shift system if the necessary infrastructure and measures will not be provided during this period.
This, the CSOs said is a stop-gap measure to deal with the challenges confronting educational sector in Ghana.
The CSOs made these suggestions at a day’s stakeholders engagement meeting on reopening of schools organized by School for Life. According to them, temporary structures could be provided to create more space for children because the infrastructure deficit is still huge.
The CSOs also call for more attention to virtual learning platforms to prepare schools in the country should in case the world is hit by similar pandemic.
The engagement was aimed at understanding the preparations and readiness of the regional education directorate towards school reopening in January next year owing to covid-19.