<<Print>>

Four pre-tertiary education unions in Ghana are demanding the closure of schools in order to avert the spread of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) disease.

The four unions namely, the Teachers and Educational Workers' Union, National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT), Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) and the Coalition of Concerned Teachers Ghana (CCT-GH) in a joint statement said the conditionalities for the re-opening of the schools are "either limited or just not there".

"In the light of the above. We the Pre-tertiary Teacher Unions-GNAT NAGRAT TEWU, CCT-GH have no option than to ask that the schools be closed down. For how long can we stand and look, while our children are consigned to imminent death. We cannot stand any unwarranted catastrophe. Our children are our future, and we must protect them," the statement said.

According to the Unions, an already bad situation has been compounded by the Electoral Commission visiting campuses to register students, thereby breaching the COVID-19 protocols the more.

"The situation is really grim and deadly! And this is what the country finds itself in at the moment! This notwithstanding, the Electoral Commission has intruded into the schools, allegedly to register the students for the 2020 general election, thus breaching the protocols the more, and making more infestations open.

"Our children are the prey, the target our children are on the receiving end, while such critical bodies as the Ministry of Finance, the Bulk Oil Storage and Transportation Company Ltd (BOST) the Ghana Grid Company Ltd (GridCo) and the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) among others, are either on partial or total lockdown".