Final year students of Junior High Schools (JHSs) within the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area (GAMA) on Monday resumed classes after a three-month break due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

A visit by the Ghana News Agency (GNA) to some basic schools within the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area showed that a large number of the finalists have reported for school.

The schools visited include the Nima Cluster of Schools, the Kanda Estates JHS, the University Basic School, Legon and the Association International School.

At the Nima Cluster of Schools, the Kanda Estates JHS and the University Basic School, Legon, the GNA was informed that staff and their headteachers had a formal meeting and that students were briefed on how to observe the COVID-19 protocols.

There were a number of veronica buckets with liquid soaps placed at vantage points for both students and staff to wash their hands.

The GNA observed that staff and students were all wearing facemasks.
However, the GNA found that at the Association International School at Airport Residential, students were not in school.

The authorities at the Association International School were not immediately available for comment, however, a staff, who spoke to the GNA on condition of anonymity, explained that the School is a private one and that they run the American educational curriculum.

The JHSs reopening is to enable their final year students to adequately prepare for their Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE).

The re-opening is in line with the Presidential Directive that all JHSs in the country should resume from June 29th for their final year as part of the gradual easing of the COVID-19 restrictions.

It would be recalled that over the past two weeks, in line with the same Presidential Directives, the tertiary institutions and the Senior High Schools (SHSs) also reopened on the 15th and 22nd of June respectively for all final year students.

In all, the JHSs final year students would be spending 11 weeks in school.

Prior to the JHSs reopening, the Government ensured that their school premises were fumigated and disinfected as part of measures to contain the COVID-19 pandemic.

Across the country, 17,439 schools would resume classes to prepare their students to sit for the BECE.

In all, the Government is expecting some 750,000 persons, comprising 532,000 JHS three students, and 218,000 teaching and non-teaching staff, and invigilators, to be involved in the exercise.

To protect the lives of these students, and all other personnel, government has put in place the relevant measures, in consultation with the Conference of Heads of Basic Schools and Regional and District Directors of Education and Health.