Poor Teachers to go back and Teach in this Coronavirus Pandemic? – Ghana Education Service why?

I am a citizen

I am the son of a Gong-gong beater

Why should the poor teacher go back and teach in this CoronaVirus Pandemic when our confirmed case count is 7616 as at 29th May 2020 and it’s still rising exponentially?

According to a BBC reportage on schools being reopened in the Coronavirus Pandemic on the 29th May 2020, South Korea has closed schools down again after biggest spike in weeks.

More than 200 schools in South Korea have been forced to close just days after they re-opened, due to a new spike in virus cases.

Thousands of students had earlier on Wednesday returned to school as the country began easing virus restrictions.

But just a day later, 79 new cases were recorded, the highest daily figure in two months.

What a dangerous risk to take against your own citizens.

Why hurtle when you can wait a while to let the dust settle?

In Ghana, the National Council of Parent-Teacher Associations (NCPTAs), Ghana Teachers Union and the Africa Education Watch have added their voices to concerns about the GES’ plans to re-open schools.

Why the rush to reopen schools when the country is challenged with an exponential rise in confirmed cases of Covid-19

Has the Ghana Education Service thought through the decision to reopen schools?

Has the Ghana Education Service anticipated the snag the country is likely to face if schools reopen? I doubt.

Does the Ghana Education Service have a Master Plan or Blue print of inventiveness about reopening schools?

Has the Ghana Education Service, thought about providing some essential things in all the schools?

My uncle Mr Adjei Mensah who teaches at the La Wireless JSS asks these questions;

How safe am I if schools are opened?

Are the students books and papers safe to mark?

Will he take these books and papers home to mark?

Do I get free medication if I get infected with covid at work

Is my family compensated if I die after getting covid from teaching at the school?

Will I get risk allowances when schools opening for exposing myself ?

Is it worth to die for the salary which is not enough to feed , cloth and shelter my family?

Will I be able to teach all the subject and periods in a day with a nose musk on?

I have other health conditions that might affect me in this covid pandemic when I get infected. Can I still teach

If a student in class shows covid symptoms after lunch during classes, do we also quarantine the teacher’s?

Do we quarantine the whole class or the whole school?

Does the school have an equipped sickbay to give initial aid?

How frequent do we test temperature of teachers and students?

If given 1 machine to test temperature . Is it possible to test 45 students in the class before lessons? Do you test again when to go for snack breaks?

Who will test and check the temperature of the students ? Will the teachers be paid for that?

Will the teaching and learning going to continue if we run out of sanitizers?

Will the teaching and learning continue if tap water stops flowing completely

If the teacher get infected is in self quarantine, who will take his/her class?

Are all schools having enough desk to maintain social distance?

Will the school be able to employ more teachers since the teacher to pupil ratio has decreased?

How many teachers are needed per school in each department per subject?

How will you know a child is infected and he/she goes home infected of covid?

How safe will a child be if schools open?

Is education the first priority than life of your child?

Let’s not forget that covid is spread out by air and contact therefore its a contagious disease.

Let’s keep on keeping on for the best and keep praying

If the Ghana Education Service has answered the above questions from the concerned teacher satisfactorily, and will provide the essentials, then schools can go ahead and reopen

Let me sign off with this African proverb that says “ the ears that do not listen to advice, accompanies the head when it is being chopped off”. Which means
A person who does not heed advice will suffer the consequences atlas

I remain the echoing voice of a village scribe and Gong-gong beater

TT Caternor
La Dadekotopon