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ISSAH FUSENI Edited PDF
ISSAH FUSENI Edited PDF
ISSAH FUSENI Edited PDF
ISSAH FUSENI
BEP/AS/01/18/0283
2020
ABSTARCT
The study examined the impact of Covid-19 on pupils in private schools. This study will
specifically look at Covid-19 and its effects on pupils of private school. It was discovered
the school closures was one of the most visible and controversial means by which Covid-
19 is affecting young people. According to UNESCO, the education of nearly 1.6 billion
pupils in 190 countries was affected that’s 90% of the world’s school-age children. Since
the pandemic started, governments and educators all over the world have responded in
stride, finding innovative ways to keep children learning. The Ghana learning television
channel launched to help educate children in other to compensate for the loss of contact
hours with teachers in school is one such innovation. This situation contributed to the
decline in academic performance of children. Already, parents and guardians are struggling
to keep up with their new forced role as educators. It was recommended that Governments
should prepare to immediately get children back in school once Covid-19 is under control
locally with careful public health planning, in line with World Health Organization
individually with children who do not show up for classes and try to re-engage them. This
should include support to girls who married or became pregnant or parents during the
school closure. Before schools physically re-open, those offering remote learning should
track which students participate, reach out to those not participating, and try to help them
re-engage.
INTRODUCTION
information, enables them to know their rights and duties toward their family, society as
well as the nation. It expands vision and outlook to see the world. It develops the
capabilities to fight against injustice, violence, corruption and many other bad elements
in the society. Education gives us knowledge of the world around us. It develops in us a
perspective of looking at life. It is the most important element in the evolution of the
nation. Without education, one will not explore new ideas. It means one will not able to
develop the world because without ideas there is no creativity and without creativity, there
identified education, particularly basic education, as a basic human right which every must
have access to for their development and consequently the development. of the entire
nation. However, this realization has not yielded much fruit in these countries because
demand for education outstrips supply due in part, to scarcity of capital (Abayode, 1983).
These problems, have made it increasingly difficult for governments alone to shoulder the
on education as a percentage of total recurrent and development budget was 17.1 percent.
This figure increased to 20.4 percent in 1983/84 and again increased to 26.7 percent in
1985/86. (Ghana Statistical Service,1987). The 1999 figure was put at 36 percent
(Bcnneh,1999), while the 2003 figure stood at around 40 percent. In spite of these
increases, the education sector still needs more resources to expand and improve existing
facilities to raise the standard of education in the country. It has therefore become
increasingly necessary for private sector participation in providing education facilities in
ISSER Director, Prof Peter Quartey spoke to the Business and Financial Times on
the new corona virus (COVID-19) which scientists believe originated from the Hubei
province in China has shaken the entire world and brought the global economy to its knees.
It has claimed several lives and Ghana has not been spared though not on the scale
recorded in USA, Italy, Spain, UK, South Africa etc. The threat of the virus has affected
all three sectors of Ghana’s economy, namely, agriculture, industry and services. The
hardest hit includes education, hotels and tourism, restaurants, import and export trade to
mention but a few. The President of Ghana, H.E Nana Addo Akuffo Addo acted swiftly
and proactively, first to close down schools, churches and mosques; ban social gatherings
and later closed the borders of Ghana to passenger traffic to stop the importation of the
virus into the country. This move was followed by a lockdown of three major cities,
namely Accra, Tema and Kumasi for two weeks. According to UNESCO (2020), the
education of nearly 1.6 billion pupils in 190 countries has so far been affected, that’s 90%
of the world’s school-age children. And at the time of writing, there are still no definite
plans for opening the schools of around half of these children. Pupils have been out of
school since march 2020, This study will examine the effects of the Covid-19 on pupils.
According to Holt (1967) children carry what they are taught at a young age
throughout the rest of their lives. They will use what they have learned to influence society.
Everyone knows that today’s youth will become tomorrow’s leaders, and teachers have
access to educate the youth in their most impressionable years, whether that is in teaching
preschool, teaching extracurriculars, sports or traditional classes. Schools have the ability
to shape leaders of the future in the best way for society to build positive and inspired future
generations and therefore design society, both on a local and global scale. In reality, schools
have the most important job in the world. Those who have an impact on the children of
society have the power to change lives. Not just for those children themselves, but for the
lives of all. Abernathy, T. (2001) discovered teachers to be the most significant elements
of education system. Ghana confirmed its first case of coronavirus on March 12 and has
since reported a total of 287 infections and five deaths (Ghana Health Service, 2020). On
the 15th of March, President Nana Akufo-Addo of Ghana ordered the closure of all
education institutions in Ghana, effecting some 9.2 million basic school students
(kindergarten, primary and junior high schools and 0.5 million tertiary education students.
President Nana Akufo-Addo announced during his state address that academic activities
were to resume next year, 2021. This is in a bid to prevent the possible spread of
Private schools’ pupils were most affected since they have been home without any tuition
or extra curricula activities. Though there have been some initiatives like online tutorials,
televised teachings on national television for kids, not all have benefited from this
initiative. This calls for a study into how the Covid-19 has impacted pupils in private
schools.
The study aimed at examining the impact of Covid-19 on pupils in private schools.
Specifically, the study explored Covid-19 and its effects on pupils of private school.
Significance of the Study
stakeholders.
LITERATURE REVIEW
Coronavirus
respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first two cases in Ghana were
confirmed on 12 March 2020, when two infected people came to Ghana, one from Norway
and the other from Turkey. Greater Accra, Ashanti and Upper West regions recorded cases
Agyemang-Manu announced Ghana's first two confirmed cases (in Accra). The two cases
were people who returned to the country from Norway and Turkey which made them the
first actual cases of COVID-19 in Ghana. These two cases initiated the first contact tracing
process in Ghana. Of the first two cases reported in Ghana, one case was a senior officer
at the Norwegian Embassy in Ghana who had returned from Norway; while the other was
a staff member at the United Nations (UN) offices in Ghana who had returned from Turkey.
By the end of the month there had been 152 confirmed cases, 5 deaths, and 22 recovered
patients, leaving 125 active cases going into April. Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is an
infectious disease caused by a new coronavirus belonging to the SARS-COV family. Most
people infested with COVID-19 will feel mild to moderate respiratory illness and may
recover without special treatment. Older people, and those with underlying health
problems like diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer and chronic respiratory illness are
more likely to develop grave illness. One of the important ways to contain and slow
the spread is to intensify education on the mode of trans mission and the signs and
symptoms of the disease. Guard yourself and others against infection by using an
alcohol-based sanitizer regularly or washing your hands and not touching your face
problems including inadequate coverage, inability to enroll majority of children within the
school-going age and poor academic performance of pupils. As a result, private schools
have assumed greater importance in the country. In fact. their contribution to the
development of education in the country has improved tremendously. However, the private
schools also face problems which include inadequate funds, poor infrastructure and poor
teacher quality. The President of Ghana, H.E Nana Addo Akuffo Addo acted swiftly and
proactively, first to close down schools, churches and mosques; ban social gatherings and
later closed the borders of Ghana to passenger traffic to stop the importation of the virus
into the country. This move was followed by a lockdown of three major cities, namely
Accra, Tema and Kumasi for two weeks. Subsequently measures were put in place to
cushion affected members of society especially the vulnerable and less privileged. A
have started downsizing. Ghana Christian High International School for instance has laid
off some workers and agreed to pay 50% salaries to the remaining staff from April 2020.
Other private schools are taking the same measures since fees are collected per term and
therefore teaching and non-teaching staff can only be remunerated when these fees are
collected at the beginning of the term. According to Mohammed Nurudeen the situation
was “very bad” because “gone are the days where you will see parents trooping in and
bringing in their wards to seek admission.” He noted that in the past, his school normally
did not have problems with admission “but as we speak, the numbers that we get this time
around we are not getting these numbers because of the free SHS. The 2019 coronavirus
epidemic has affected educational arrangements globally, leading to the near-total closing
of schools, colleges and universities. The more serious concern is that, when schools are
closed for long periods, many children will begin to forget what they already know – a
regression that will be much harder to remedy. Marcotte (2020) points to studies of
children’s progress over the school year. As you might expect, most children show steady
improvements throughout the terms, but this can regress – sometimes radically – during
the long summer school holiday, particularly in subjects such as maths. “In the United
States, about 25% of what is gained during the academic year is lost over the course of the
summer,” Marcotte says. Not all children will be affected in the same way – leading some
experts to fear that this will widen the (already highly significant) gap in educational
achievement between richer and poorer families. According to Human Rights Watch
Africa (2020) “Children are not taught during this period,” said an education official in
Congo in June echoing the experiences of many children across the continent. Although
some students had received printed assignments, she said, “We cannot say that this is
normal education.” One Congolese student told us, for example, “We were just told to
regularly reread our notes while waiting for new instructions from the authorities… At
first, I thought school would start again soon so I didn’t read my notes and then when I saw
that it was going to go on, I started to read them. I’d forgotten a lot.” Chéckina M., 13, in
Kinshasa, said she was given a study book by her school when it closed, but afterwards
had no contact with her teachers. “I reread my old lessons… I find math difficult to study
at home [alone].” Human Rights Watch Africa (2020) also reported from In Zambia, just
before 15-year-old Natalie L.’s school closed, “The headmistress came through the classes
and told us to study on our own.” Natalie uses books she already had. “Most topics are
difficult to understand without the help of a teacher.” She said, “It’s been a little bit nerve-
racking. Next year I have my [school leaving] examination and I think I will have to work
harder for that.” Parents and teachers in the Central African Republic said in June that there
had been no teaching since school closed. A mother of a 6-year-old girl in Bangui said she
tries to get her daughter to do revision exercises, and three times a week they listen to
classes on the radio. “But it is a program which is not specific for each level of class. It’s
too complex… Our children have not had any support during this time of pandemic. I fear
a drop in children’s level after all this time lost.” Dekha A., 14, in Kenya, said her school
sends revision papers to parents via WhatsApp twice a month. “A marking scheme is sent
once the students have made an attempt and the papers are meant to be marked by the
parents… The teachers do not communicate directly with us.” School closings impact not
only teachers, students and families, but have extensive economic and societal costs.
School closings in response to COVID-19 have thrown light on numerous social and
economic issues, including homelessness, digital learning, student debt and food insecurity
as well as health care, access to childcare, housing, disability services and internet. The
impact was severe for underprivileged families, and their children, causing intermittent
families who could not work. Efforts to stalk the spread of COVID-19 through non-
distancing have sparked the extensive closure of all tertiary, second cycle and basic
schooling in more than 100 countries. Previous epidemics impelled widespread school
Conclusion
The study aimed at examining the impact of Covid-19 on pupils in private schools.
It was discovered governments and educators all over the world had responded in stride,
finding innovative ways to keep children learning. The Ghana learning television channel
launched to help educate children in other to compensate for the loss of contact hours with
teachers in school is one such innovation. How helpful are these television learning
sessions to the many school going children who live in areas without televisions or access
to electricity? And how do we answer the questions children with access may have while
they learn? This situation will likely contribute to the decline in academic performance of
children. Already, parents and guardians are struggling to keep up with their new forced
role as educators. Clearly, in this time of ‘house arrest’ surfing the internet is going to be
the order of the day. Research indicates that the internet is a new and innovative medium
that can completely change the lives of people much as television did in the 1950s and
1960 (Kim 2003). Kim argues that the number of kids and teens who are using the internet
is growing fast every year. Obviously, children in Ghana today cannot do away with the
internet. What are they reading and watching? on the internet? Who is controlling what
they read and watch on the internet? I strongly believe these questions and many others
must be asked during this pandemic. Children are likely to be exposed to novel and
dangerous behaviors if surfing the internet is not checked. Some of these foreign behaviors
on the internet can have negative repercussions on the moral standards of the Ghanaian
children back in school once Covid-19 is under control locally with careful public health
planning, in line with World Health Organization guidance, to prevent and control the
spread of Covid-19 including by following up individually with children who do not show
up for classes and try to re-engage them. This should include support to girls who married
or became pregnant or parents during the school closure. Before schools physically re-
open, those offering remote learning should track which students participate, reach out to
those not participating, and try to help them re-engage. Any governmental and non-
governmental efforts to encourage children to return to school when schools reopen should
be over-inclusive that is, should also be directed at children who were excluded from
education due to other causes prior to the pandemic. When schools reopen, governments
should ensure that all students have access to free primary education, and ensure secondary
education is accessible and free. As part of their Covid-19 response packages, governments
should provide financial support to offset school-related expenses for children whose
families suffered economic hardship and would not be able to return to school otherwise.
In countries where girls’ enrollment or completion of secondary school is lower than boys’,
enable girls return to school as soon as it is safe. Governments should provide remedial
education for children who were unable to follow distance education and for children who
were out of school due to other causes prior to the pandemic. Governments should
especially focus on children most excluded or at risk: including children with disabilities,
children living in poverty, refugee and migrant children, children who work, children in
Abraham, A. (2020). How COVID-19 may increase domestic violence and child abuse.
Ghana Statistical Service, (l 987). Ghana in Figures. Government Printer, Accra p. 12.
Human Rights Watch interview with education official, Butembo, North Kivu, Democratic
Kim Y. (2003). The impact of the internet on Children’s daily lives: Physical, Social and
private schools.html
abuse