Second year students return to school today

Junior high and senior high schools in the country will open their gates to second year students to enable them to complete their respective third term and second semester of the current academic year.

The students are expected be in school for 10 weeks to study and write their end of term and semester examinations.

Students are safe

The Ghana Education Service (GES) in a press release signed and issued by the Head of the Public Relations unit of the service, Ms Cassandra Twum Ampofo, assured parents and the general public that the students would be safe while in school.

The statement said personal protective equipment (PPE) had been distributed to all schools which had also been fumigated and disinfected against COVID-19.

"Management of Ghana Education Service (GES) wishes to remind all students, parents, teachers and the general public that Form Two students in junior high and senior high schools will be returning to school on Monday October 5, 2020.

“This is to enable them to complete the 3rd term and 2nd semester, respectively, of the current academic year," the release said.

The statement said management wished to assure the students, parents, teachers and the general public that all the necessary measures had been put in place to ensure their safety while in school.

"All schools have been fumigated and disinfected. In addition, personal protective equipment (PPE) have been distributed to all schools," the statement added.

Closure of schools

Following the outbreak of the coronavirus, all universities, SHSs, basic schools, both private and public in the country, were closed down.

However, final-year SHS students were recalled back to resume academic work on June 22 to undergo a six-week academic work up to July 31, 2020 before the commencement of their final examinations from August 3 to September 4, 2020 when they completed.

Additionally, second-year Gold Track students also went back to school for six weeks, starting from June 22 to July 31, before proceeding on vacation.

In the case of the JHS final-year students, they underwent 11 weeks of academic work from June 29 to September 11, 2020 this year, and wrote their Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) between September 14 and 18.

On August 30, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in his 16th address to the nation on measures taken to control the spread of the coronavirus disease announced that JHS and SHS in their second year (Form 2) were to resume today, October 5, 2020, to complete the 2019/20 academic year.

The President directed that JHSs would operate with a class size of 30 while SHSs would operate with a class size of 25.