Some parents in Accra have pleaded with government and education authorities not to shut down schools again over increasing cases of COVID-19 in the country.

They held that if necessary precautions were taken, the cases could reduce for children to continue their education.

The plea followed calls from the Ghana Medical Association for government to shut down schools the second time, after some cases of COVID-19 were recorded in some schools across the country.

Madam Hawa Abdul Khadil, 45, a trader and a parent, said with the provision of Personnel Protective Equipment (PPE) and strict observance of the COVID-19 safety protocols, children could be safer in schools than homes.

“My husband and I are always busy working and return home late. During the shutdown of schools, taking care of our kids was not easy, so they being in school under the protection of their teachers would be safer,” she said.

Madam Sackley Armah, another mother, 43, said some schools were adhering to the safety guidelines and presented a ‘COVID-19 free’ environment for children.

“Some schools and teachers are doing better than us. The kids come home to teach us what to do so we don’t have to close schools again. The children will worry us at home. Let’s just make the schools better for them,” she said.

“I have relatives who are teachers and going back to School is not only for the kids, but for the teachers too. Some don’t have any work to do,’’ Madam Sandra Dery, a mother of two, said.

Mr. Razak Mohammed Aboagye, 47, a single parent, said they had already paid school fees and that there was no reason for schools to shut down.
He said what was needed was for the schools to ensure adherence to the protocols strictly.

Mr Aboagye also called on education authorities to monitor schools to ensure that they went by the Ghana Education Service Schools Reopening Guidelines, especially reduced class sizes.