Covid-19: Re-opening schools should be gradual, Sarah Garshong tells Govt

In anticipation of the easing down of the Covid-19 restrictions, the Assistant Headmaster in charge of Administration, St. Mary’s Senior High School, Mrs Sarah Garshong, has added her voice to the call on government to hasten slowly on its decision to re-open schools on a mass scale.

According to her, the re-opening of schools should be a gradual process, starting with the final-year students.

“The government must do it gradually by allowing the final-year students who are due for examinations,” she said.

Mrs Garshong made the call when her school had its turn of the national disinfestation and disinfection of public senior high schools (SHSs) undertaken by Zoomlion Ghana Limited on Saturday.

The exercise which was done in the Greater Accra Region saw a number SHSs benefit.

Some of the schools were Ideal College, Mamprobi branch, Accra Academy SHS, St Margaret Mary SHS, Sacred Heart Technical Institute, Jamestwon among others.  

While the disinfestation was targeted at getting rid of bed-bugs infestation which have gained notoriety in many of the SHSs, the disinfection part was to help contain the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Using her school as an example, Mrs Garshong admitted that it will be very tough for them to practice, especially the “physical/social distancing safety protocol.”

She explained that this was because her school had limited space for its large student population.

“That will mean that students will have to go to the dining hall in batches in addition to other social gatherings on campus which clearly will be difficult for us to implement,” she admitted.

However, she pointed out that when the final year students are allowed to come in first, “then we are certain that we can practice particularly the physical distancing protocol in addition to the other Covid-19 preventive protocols,” she said.

On the disinfestation against bed-bugs, Mrs Garshong was optimistic that it will go a long way to help the school get rid of the bugs.

According to her, the school has had to battle with bugs for some years now, adding that they sometimes receive help from some of the parents in that regard.

To this end, she advocated for a regular disinfestation exercise against bugs in SHSs.

That, she said, will prevent the recurrence of these bugs and their attendant health hazards.

She also called for the need for teachers to be provided with PPE in the event schools are re-opened.

She commended GES and Zoomlion for the initiative. 

At the Sacred Heart Technical Institute at Jamestown, Accra, the Vice Principal in charge of Administration, Wetse L. Odjidja, stressed that a lot will change when schools re-open.

“Of course we will still be in abnormal times, and we will have to observe all the Covid-19 protocols,” he said.

He went on to add that the management of the school will also ensure that students observe all the safety protocols in the event school re-opens.

“We will also educate our students to take personal hygiene serious,” Mr. Odjiidja   assured.