A medical doctor and Clinical Health Psychologist, Dr. Isaac Newman Arthur, has warned that the fear of contracting COVID 19 among senior high school finalists could affect their performance in their final examinations.
The clinical psychologist explained it is unlikely for students to remain calm and not panic with the atmosphere that is being created due to coronavirus cases being recorded in some senior high schools.
According to him, students now have to struggle with the stress of excelling in the final exams and the fear of contracting the virus.
He noted that “with normal exams time, there’s a lot of stress and anxiety in terms of trying to wrap your head around what you must study to pass successfully; but in addition to this, there’s added stress from this pandemic. So the stress of the precautionary measures such as social distancing, don’t do this and that, the anxieties of whether you will get it or not and even die as a result of it. So you don’t expect students to have a sound mind to concentrate on their work and be able to perform well” saying if they fail, it will not come to him as a surprise.
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Speaking in an interview on the Atlantic Wave on Thursday, Dr. Newman Arthur noted that there is a need for the government to give attention to the impact of coronavirus fears among the finalist.
“If you decide to go back to normal life, then you should be prepared to deal with the impact of that decision and that is what I think we are lacking.”
Teachers at the KNUST Senior High School have come under heavy public criticism for allegedly neglecting a sick student leading to his demise. The Headteacher of the school has been asked to step aside with two others allegedly transferred from the school. There are allegations of the teachers fearing the student was suffering from COVID 19.
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To Dr. Newman Arthur, teachers should be trained to give timely assistance to students with suspected cases of the virus.
In addition, he said personal protective equipment should be given them to help curb the fear of having close contact with students in case they contract the virus.
ABA AIKINS APPAH/ATLFMNEWS
