Hot!
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
Massive celebrations were recorded countrywide as the Black Stars opened their 2026 World Cup campaign with a 1-0 victory over Panama in Toronto on Wednesday.
Midfielder Caleb Yirenkyi scored the only goal of the match late in the game as he shot in a decent cross from substitute Brandon Asante.
The win gave Ghana a positive start in the competition, placing them in second position behind England, also with three points but with a superior goal aggregate.
After the final whistle, the streets and other viewing centres were turned into partying grounds as fans, mostly clad in the team’s paraphernalia, danced to several World Cup-themed music.
Others blew the vuvuzelas in joyous mood with others putting up a spirited ‘jama’ session.
Former New Patriotic Party (NPP) parliamentary candidate for the Adentan Constituency, Akosua Manu, has urged party members to move away from what she describes as an “entitlement mentality” and focus on unity, sacrifice and hard work as the party prepares for the 2028 general election.
In a statement titled “Is Loyalty a Queue?”, and posted on facebook, Ms. Manu argued that loyalty to the NPP should not be judged by how long a person has been in the party but by their contributions and commitment to its growth.
According to her, the NPP’s history shows that many of its leaders faced significant opposition from within the party before eventually leading it to electoral success.
She cited former President John Agyekum Kufuor as an example, saying he had to overcome resistance from influential figures within the party before winning power for the NPP in 2000.
Ms. Manu noted that after the party lost power in 2008, former President Kufuor faced criticism and accusations from some party members.
However, she said supporters eventually put their differences aside and worked together to rebuild the party.
She pointed to the experience of former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, who, according to her, faced opposition from some factions within the NPP despite his long service to the party.
“His trials were ten times what Kufuor endured,” she stated, adding that Akufo-Addo eventually overcame the challenges and became President of Ghana.
Turning to the NPP’s current flagbearer, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, Ms. Manu said he also faced resistance from different groups within the party while seeking leadership.
She praised Dr. Bawumia for contributing to policy-based political discussions in Ghana and for remaining composed following the NPP’s defeat in the 2024 elections.
According to her, party members must now rally behind him in the same way they supported former Presidents Kufuor and Akufo-Addo.
Ms. Manu, however, warned that internal divisions and a sense of entitlement remain major threats to the party’s future.
She argued that some party members place too much emphasis on how long individuals have belonged to the NPP rather than on their contributions and capabilities.
“This entitlement does not question impact. It does not ask what you sacrificed or what you built. It asks only how long have you been here,” she said.
The former parliamentary candidate cautioned that such attitudes could discourage committed members and prevent the party from selecting the best people for leadership positions.
She further called on the party’s incoming national executives to strengthen the NPP’s core values of sacrifice, honesty, integrity and dedication to national development.
Ms. Manu addressed the concerns of young party supporters, many of whom she said became discouraged following the NPP’s electoral defeat in 2024.
According to her, many young people remain eager to see the party return to power but are unwilling to support internal conflicts driven by personal ambitions.
She urged party elders to place the interests of the NPP above their individual goals and to demonstrate leadership that attracts rather than alienates members.
“The NPP is bigger than any one of us. It always has been. Our collective responsibility is to act like it,” she stated.
By: Jacob Aggrey
News1 week agoNFS, AACMA raise GH¢300K for new fire tender
- News6 days ago
FSD Africa, others launch Green Project Preparation Facility to unlock investment in climate infrastructure in Ghana
- News6 days ago
Merck Foundation holds 13th Africa Asia Luminary with 12 First Ladies to advance healthcare capacity across Africa and Asia
