School closings: students get pregnant, others marry

General news for Wednesday, September 2, 2020

Source: 3 News

2020-09-02

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African Education Watch Executive Director Kofi Asare has revealed that the suspension of schools in Ghana after the coronavirus pandemic has caused most female students to marry and others to become pregnant as well.

He said research by his team indicates that most students are likely not to return to school if schools reopen in January because they will be married or pregnant.

Mr. Asare spoke in connection with President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s decision to move the next academic year for kindergarten, kindergarten, elementary and secondary schools (JHS) to January 202, after consultation with the Service of Ghana Education (GES). and relevant stakeholders.

However, JHS sophomores will resume on Monday, October 5 to complete their academic work.

“The next academic year will resume in January 2021, with the necessary adjustments to the curriculum, to ensure that nothing is lost from the previous year.

“The pertinent provisions will also be made so that the presence, at the same time, in the school of all flows of students, can occur safely,” said the president in a speech to the nation on Sunday, August 30.

Schools were closed on Monday, March 15, in a bold government effort to stem the spread of Covid-19 a couple of days after Ghana recorded two index cases.

But in an interview on TV3’s New Day on Tuesday, September 1, Asare said: “The downside of reopening the school next year has to do with the girls getting pregnant.

“Our research found that 20% of the 200 schools we tracked registered girls, speaking of JHS 2 and SHS 2, who did not return to school due to marriage and pregnancy.”

He added that “learning loss will deepen as a result of inaccessibility to the e-learning program and a challenge especially with students living in rural areas compared to children living in urban areas.”

He also noted that many students are unable to access e-learning platforms in the country.

“There are records that around five million houses in Ghana do not have electricity and are unable to subscribe to the content delivery of the e-learning channel platform for children at home and children living in rural areas.”