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We’ll protect students, teaching, non-teaching staff for COVID-19
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo says the government has put in place adequate measures to protect students, teaching and non-teaching staff in the various senior high schools from the coronavirus (COVID 19) pandemic.
He said measures have been put in place to ensure that students and teachers adhere strictly to enhanced personal hygiene and social distancing protocols to prevent an outbreak of the COVID-19 in the schools.
Final year SHS students and SHS 2 Gold Track students resumed academic activities yesterday to prepare for their final examination after a three-month break due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
SHS 3 students will be in school for a total of six weeks before sitting for the WASSCE exams over a period of two 2 weeks. SHS 2 Gold Track students, who are returning to complete their first semester like their Green Track colleagues have done, will be in school for six weeks, before going on vacation.
President Akufo-Addo, in an address on the COVID 19 situation in the country last Sunday night entreated all students, teaching and non-teaching staff to wash their hands regularly with soap under running water and refrain from shaking hands, wear face masks and protect themselves and others.
“All 1,167 senior high schools in the country have been fumigated and disinfected. Each student, teaching and non-teaching staff, invigilator and school administrator, numbering some 800,000 will be provided with three pieces of reusable face masks, that is two being provided tomorrow, and the third within a fortnight”.
“A total of 18,000 Veronica buckets, 800,000 pieces of two hundred millilitre sanitisers, 36,000 rolls of tissue paper, 36,000 gallons of liquid soap, and 7,200 thermometer guns have been distributed,” he said.
President Akufo-Addo said a maximum of twenty-five students will be permitted in each class and added that all day students in schools with boarding houses will be resident in the boarding houses, whilst day students in schools without boarding facilities will commute from home, and will be required to adhere to enhanced hygiene protocols.
Eating in dining halls will be in appropriate numbers; and no visitors to the schools will be allowed, he said and noted that mass gatherings or sporting activities will be prohibited in the schools.
“Religious activities, under the new protocols, will be permitted. Social distancing and the wearing of face masks are obligatory in our schools.”
“One dormitory block in each senior high school is to be used as an isolation centre, in the event of a student falling sick. Again, each SHS has been mapped to a health facility, and care will be provided to the sick by nurses assigned to these schools,” he said.
Through the National Food and Buffer Stock Company, he said enough food supplies have been distributed to all schools.
Government is also making available 350 buses and 840 pickup vehicles to senior high schools that did not receive vehicles in 2016, he said.
President Akufo-Addo announced plans by the government to absorb the WASSCE examination fees of the 313,837 SHS 3 students who will sit for the exam at a total cost of GH¢75.4 million.
“These SHS 3 students, also referred to by some as the ‘Akufo-Addo graduates’, are the first group of beneficiaries of government’s Free Senior High School policy to sit the WASSCE exams. 1.2 million children, the highest such enrolment in our nation’s history, because of this policy, are currently in senior high schools,” he said
Source: Ghanaian Times
Ghana’s First Lady, Lordina Mahama, has made a generous donation to the country’s national female Under-17 and Under-20 teams – Black Maidens and Black Princesses- as they continue preparations for major international assignments.
The donation, made on Friday, May 22, was presented on behalf of the First Lady by the Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection, Agnes Naa Momo Lartey, at the GFA Technical Centre in Prampram.
The gesture forms part of efforts to motivate and support Ghana’s young female footballers as they prepare to represent the country on the international stage.
The donation included essential food items and toiletries aimed at supporting the welfare and well-being of the players and technical teams.
The donation included cartons of Milo, T-rolls, soft drinks, toiletries, and a range of essential supplies aimed at supporting the welfare of the players, enhancing camp conditions, and easing preparations ahead of their respective assignments.
The Black Maidens are currently engaged in preparations for the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup qualifiers and are set to take on Liberia women’s national under-17 football team in the second-leg encounter in Liberia this weekend.
Meanwhile, the Black Princesses have already secured qualification to the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup after overcoming Uganda in the qualifiers, extending Ghana’s remarkable record to eight consecutive appearances at the tournament.
The donation by the First Lady was expected to boost morale within both camps while reinforcing national support for the young female footballers who continue to make the country proud.
The prosecution has officially rested its case in The Republic v Solomon Asamoah & Another, the high-profile legal battle commonly referred to as the “Sky Train” case.
The Deputy Attorney General Justice Srem Sai announced the development, praising the state’s team of hard-working prosecutors for successfully anchoring the state’s evidence before the High Court.
The criminal trial centers on the former Chief Executive Officer and the former Board Chairman of the Ghana Infrastructure Investment Fund (GIIF).
The duo stands accused of illegally authorizing and paying out US$2 million to a foreign company without obtaining board directives or other mandatory statutory approvals.
State investigators have confirmed that the disbursed millions cannot be found.
Following the closure of the prosecution’s case, the accused persons moved the court for an opportunity to file a submission of no case.
The presiding judge granted the application, ordering the defense to submit their arguments by June 8.
The outcome of the June 8 filings will decide the fate of the trial:
With this, if the judge finds the defense’s submission convincing, the accused will be acquitted and discharged however, If the judge dismisses the submission, the court will order the accused officials to take the stand and explain why they should not face prison sentences.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
