Some parents in the Upper West Region have commended government for the reopening of schools across the country.
The parents said they have confidence in government’s ability to ensure the safety of all students and teachers.
Speaking to GBC at Wa, one of the parents, Mahama Kanewe said government’s commitment to ensuring the well-being of students who took part in the recent BECE and WASSCE shows government is prepared for the reopening of schools.
He urged school authorities to enforce the health protocols that have been put in place to manage the transmission of the disease.
President Nana Akufo-Addo in his 21st address to public on the COVID-19 pandemic, government announced the reopening of schools.
This comes after pleas by a number of stakeholders for the resumption of teaching and learning activities.
Parents who spoke to the GBC said that was welcoming news. Students told the GBC that after the 10-month break, they are ready to go back to school. They students said that they are ready to study hard to recover the lost period.
Meanwhile, the Acting President of the Ghana National Association of Private Schools GNAPS, Dr Damasus Tuurosong while commending government for the reopening of schools said it should have given private schools more time to get their facilities in order for students.
The Acting President of GNAPS said the new calendar put out by the Ghana Education Service is impressive and will allow ample contact period between teachers and students. He admitted that despite this, not all the lost time would be recovered.
He said the reopening of schools means the resumption of business. This notwithstanding, Dr Tuurosong pleaded with government to offer some tax reliefs to owners of private schools.
“We have had a pandemic, things have not been normal. We need a period to nurse ourselves back to normalcy. Government cannot pretend that nothing has happened and say that private schools are back to normal. For instance, some of the taxes, have to be eased for us at least for this academic year. Metropolitan, Municipal, District Assembly levies of all kinds, operating permits and all those payments need to be put on ice for at least a year,” he explained.
Dr Tuurosung said to defray some of the costs that have built up over the past 10 months, parents must be willing to pay a little extra in order for their children to be enrolled in private schools.
“For us school owners, we have a job to do to put our schools in order to allow the students to feel excited enough to return to school.
For the parents, they will need to understand that we [private school owners] have been financially incapacitated for a long time. No parent should expect that we can pre-finance their children’s education up to a point before they can pay their bills.”
“As they come back to school, they should be ready come, make payments of fees before having their children enrolled in school. I think that all parents should realize, and agree without being told that there will be some increments in the charges,” he observed.
Dr Tuurosong said as an Association leading private schools, they are committed to ensure proper management of the pandemic to prevent the re-closure of educational facilities to control a second wave of transmission of the COVID-19 disease.
STORY: MARK SMITH
