Full Details: Teacher Unions Unhappy With GES Over Proposal For School Reopening
The Ghana Education Service (GES) has been criticised over a letter requesting proposals for reopening of schools in the country.
Four teacher Unions – GNAT, NAGRAT, TEWU and CCT said the GES letter which suggests that the body has launched a stakeholder consultation to provide President Akufo-Addo with measures to be taken ahead of a possible reopening of all basic and senior high schools is uncalled for.
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Break Of Schools
Schools have been on break since March this year after the President’s first address to the nation on the COVID-19 pandemic.The President in his recent address extended the ban on all public gatherings which include school activities to the end of May indicating that there will be a review.
In view of this, the GES in a letter dated 13 May 2020 signed by Director-General, Kwasi Opoku–Amankwa urged all stakeholders including leadership of teacher bodies to contribute their ideas on how the schools can ensure there is safety and maximum security if pupils are allowed to come back to school.
Misplaced Priority
The teacher unions think this is misplaced.
Speaking at a press conference in Accra, Mr Thomas Musah, the General Secretary of GNAT said: “This particular letter which has come out is creating fear and panic among the rank and file of our members. Currently, the [COVID-19] figures we have is 5,735 with 29 deaths and when people are looking at these particular figures, certainly, it will create fear and panic among them.
“We’re talking about a situation where when a teacher is going to school, the teacher will board trotro and you have certain children in a particular class coming from all walks of life. The question is, do we know the status of all the teachers who will be going to the schools? Have they been tested? The children, have they been tested? These are fundamental issues we should all establish.”
“If we don’t do that and we start talking of reopening at this particular moment, the question is why won’t we wait for the President to come and speak and we take it up from there. Schools or educational facilities are not the only places closed down…”
Please reconsider we can’t risk our lives when we don’t know whether our fellow students contract this disease or not and some schools don’t have enough boarding facilities to maintain this social distance and enough classrooms
Hmm
Are these unions telling us that schools should be reopened when covid completely vanishes from the system? Oh hoo can’t we put into place effective measures that will ensure the safety of all. Greedy leaders think about the nation
Hmm
Dont mint Those teacher unions. Because they are in the government sector, they are paid while sitting at home so they are comfortable. Those of us in the private schools are dying and these so called unions seem not to care. Dont they go to the market in trotro and other commercial vehicles? Have they contracted the virus already? Those are flimsy excuses to give from those unions who only care about themselves.
Hmmm
It will be good if schools are to reopen because upon us been at home for a while still the virus is increasing so it doesn’t make any different if people are allowed to go out and work
What matter is to follow the safety precautions that all .
Safety precautions are u not afraid for your own benefit what about others when teacher is teaching can he wear face mask to teach and in the school do the have enough boarding facilities class rooms for about 19000 students to practice the social distance so please we don’t want even big countries are not reopening and Ghana what do we want to prove please come of it