Ebola scare: Tertiary institutions to delay re-opening for two weeks
The Ministry of Education has directed all tertiary institutions in the country to postpone the 2014/2015 academic year by at least two weeks as part of measures to prevent an outbreak of the Ebola virus in Ghana.
Advertisement
The directive also applies to all private tertiary institutions, a statement signed by the Minister of Education, Professor Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang said.
Already, the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) and the Cape Coast University have indefinitely suspended the commencement of the 2014/2015 academic year.
According to the statement, the directive is to allow for the necessary screening and preparedness measures to be instituted to ensure that tertiary institutions in the country are adequately placed in readiness for any outbreak of the Ebola virus in the country.
It said the decision was taken upon the advice of the Inter-Ministerial Team on the Ebola Viral Disease under the auspices of the Chief of Staff, Mr Prosper Bani.
“All vice-chancellors, rectors, presidents and principals are kindly requested to comply with this communication,” the statement said.
The Ministry has invited all heads of tertiary institutions, along with one principal health officer each to a meeting with the Inter-Ministerial Team on Ebola Viral Disease on Monday, August 18, 2014 at 8 am at the Chief of Staff conference room, Flagstaff House.
Nearly 1,000 people have died and 1,800 have become infected in Liberia, Guinea, Sierra Leone and Nigeria since the outbreak of the disease in February
The Ebola outbreak - the worst ever - is prevalent in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea, but has spread to other countries such as Nigeria in recent months.
The Ebola virus is transmitted among humans through bodily fluids.
In Ghana a total of 37 suspected cases have since been evaluated and proved negative