President Akufo Addo has announced several measures put in place by government to ensure the safety of final year Senior High School students ahead of their reopening on Monday 22nd June, 2020.
Speaking in his 12th televised address on Sunday June 21 2020, President Akufo Addo said “All one thousand, one hundred and sixty-seven (1,167) Senior High Schools in the country have been fumigated and disinfected. Each student, teaching and non-teaching staff, invigilator and school administrator, numbering some eight hundred thousand (800,000), will be provided with three (3) pieces of reusable face masks, i.e. two (2) being provided tomorrow, and the third within a fortnight”
He however called on parents and guardians to “provide their wards and children with at least one (1) face covering on their way to school” adding that “a total of eighteen thousand (18,000) Veronica Buckets, eight hundred thousand (800,000) pieces of two hundred milliliter sanitizers, thirty-six thousand (36,000) rolls of tissue paper, thirty-six thousand (36,000) gallons of liquid soap, and seven thousand, two hundred (7,200) thermometer guns have been distributed.”
In the events of students falling sick, President Akufo Addo explained an isolation centre will be at every school dormitory block with each school mapped with a health facility.
“One dormitory block in each Senior High School is to be used as an isolation centre, in the event of a student falling sick. Again, each SHS has been mapped to a health facility, and care will be provided to the sick by nurses assigned to these schools” he explained.
On accommodation, he mentioned “A maximum of twenty-five students will be permitted in each class. All day students in schools with boarding houses will be resident in these boarding houses, whilst day students, in schools without boarding facilities, will commute from home, and will be required to adhere to enhanced hygiene protocols; eating in dining halls will be in appropriate numbers; and no visitors to the schools will be allowed.”
President Akufo Addo commended the Conference of Heads of Assisted Secondary Schools (CHASS), and the Association of Principals of Technical Institutes (APTI) for their co-operation on modalities for the return of the students.
He has therefore assured parents and guardians of the safety of their wards stating that government will protect the lives of all eight hundred thousand (800,000) students, teachers and non-teaching staff who will be returning to school on Monday.
“I will be the last person to put the lives of the ‘Akufo-Addo graduates’ at risk. It bears repeating that they must all adhere strictly to enhanced personal hygiene and social distancing protocols, regularly wash their hands with soap under running water, refrain from shaking hands, and wear masks to protect themselves and others. These rules apply to all of us” he advised.
Source: Aba Aikins Appah/ATLFMNEWS
