Covid-19: Bring back ‘Community Day School’ system to curb spread of virus

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A mining expert is advocating for the reintroduction of the Community Day School system of education in Ghana, as the country prepares to ease Covid-19 restrictions.

To Nana Biribireba Boateng, the initiative when rolled out will reduce the risk of spreading the deadly virus in schools.

Stakeholders in the education sector appear divided following a decision by the Ghana Education Service (GES) to reopen schools across the country in the wake of the Coronavirus.

Four teacher unions – the Ghana National Association of Teachers, the National Association of Graduate Teachers and the  Coalition of Concerned Teachers-Ghana and the Teachers and Educational Workers Union – have kicked against the decision citing health and safety concerns.

They have thus, launched a desperate appeal to the government to have all schools remained closed.

Already, Ghanaian second-cycle schools continue to accommodate people from far and near since the introduction of the boarding house system by the country’s first president Dr Kwame Nkrumah.

The main motive was to maintain the peaceful coexistence among Ghanaians from different ethnic backgrounds while learning from each other in an enclosed setting.

But speaking on Kumasi-based Boss FM the CEO of Christal Mining Consult, Nana Biribireba Boateng opined that the fight against the deadly virus could suffer setbacks if students are allowed to fill the already crowded boarding schools in the wake of the pandemic.

Advancing his argument on the show, he admitted the enormous importance of the boarding house system, but was quick to add that it continues to face challenges due to lack of resources and poor supervision and could expose the students to the virus.

Nana Boateng is thus, recommending the introduction of the shift system of running schools which allows teachers to engage students in batches in their own community while observing strict social distancing protocols.

He suggested to the government to stop paying for water and electricity bills of the people and rather channel the resources into purchasing Veronica buckets, hand sanitizers and nose masks for schools.

Ghana’s Covid-19 case count

Ghana has recorded 178 new COVID-19 cases to increase the caseload to 6,096, according to a late evening update by the Ghana Health Service on Tuesday.

The death toll still stands at 31 with 19 more recoveries recorded, making the total 1,773. Eight people are in critical condition, according to the update.

The total number of tests administered as of May 19, 2020 was 184, 343.

By Jonathan Ofori, Daily Mail GH