Bright Appiah
A CHILD-centred organization, Child Rights International (CRI), has appealed to government to reopen schools earlier than the date planned.
In a statement issued and signed by Bright Appiah, Executive Director of CRI, the organization said the reason it was advocating the early reopening of schools was that there were not enough learning materials for children as they stayed at home.
The organization also said allowing second-year students in both junior high schools (JHSs) and senior high schools (SHSs) to resume classes while the rest of the school children stayed at home could sensitively affect those at home.
Additionally, it said the corporate environment in Ghana had not adjusted its timelines to allow families to spend more time with their children, while also television and media stations did not have adequate educational programmes to aid children’s academic growth.
Moreover, it noted, “Children still have access to contents that are meant for adults. Additionally, no attempt has been made to regulate the internet space to make it safe and conducive for children to watch educational materials at home. The space is so loose that it has the potential of causing more harm to children.”
Corona Scare Overblown
The statement said research had shown that the pattern of Covid-19 transfer among children and adults was the lowest recorded since the outbreak, adding that among children who would contract the virus, less than 1 per cent were likely to show severe symptoms.
“In Ghana, more than 500 children contracted the virus when schools reopened for SHS and JHS to sit for their final exams. Out of that, only 30 showed mild symptoms while only seven or less showed severe symptoms. No student died as result of Covid-19. The figures above only occurred at the SHS level where over 270,000 were allowed to go back to schools. So far, there is no available record to show that students at the JHS level contracted the virus and transmitted it to the adult population who were vulnerable,” CRI explained.
Per CRI’s statement, the government could have gone ahead to reopen schools by enhancing the nutritional value of foods served to students on its “One Hot Meal A Day” programme.
“A nutritionist could have been engaged to improve the nutritional value of food given to schoolchildren to boost their immune system,” it added.
Additionally, CRI recommended that “Covid-19 educational materials could be placed on notice boards, canteens, hallway and other places where schoolchildren encountered each other.”
In a large class, for example, CRI said schoolchildren could be made to break into groups so that while “one group is learning, the other group will be on the field.”
Dangers In Shutdown
Outlining some of the dangers in keeping schools closed, CRI mentioned that more instances of child labour and child abuse, especially in rural communities, were likely to take place as children stayed at home.
A research conducted in over 1,200 communities revealed a 38 per cent rise in child labour.