The Impact of Covid-19 on Education in Ghana

Until the emergence of the novel coronavirus, also known as covid-19, schooling has been a normal routine to students at all levels. Students normally attend classes during weekdays and weekends, meet in groups for discussion, sporting activities as well as going on educational trips. Students in their final year in the Junior High and Senior High levels were earnestly preparing for their final year exams i.e BECE and WASSCE respectively. But as part of the effort to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus, all private and public schools had to close down.

On testing two positive cases of the novel coronavirus in Ghana, the President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akuffo-Addo, on Sunday, 15th March announced the closure of all Universities, Senior High Schools and Basic Schools i.e both private and public on 16th March, 2020. In response to this, students had to stay at home to ensure that they limit their interactions with others and slow the spread of the virus.

The novel coronavirus has greatly impacted the lives of both teachers and students leading them to learn and teach remotely from their homes. Although technology is used in most school affairs, the ultimate dependence on technology overnight has become a major challenge to both teachers and students. Students are struggling with technological difficulties as well as coping with the challenges of studying at home.

Here in Ghana, only a few students in the basic and secondary schools use smart phones so this becomes a difficult medium to use to lecture them. Some institutes as well as government organizations are trying to teach them through mediums like television, but how many have television in their homes?

Although most tertiary institutions are effectively teaching and learning remotely from their homes using apps like WhatsApp, Goggle classroom, Zoom among others, most students do not have access to computers and internet in their homes, thus, they tend out to miss every lecture undertaken electronically. This leads to only a few students partaking with majority left behind.

Concentration has also become a major problem at home. Though students learn conveniently from their homes, giving a concentrated mind to everything taught is a problem faced by many. There are many distractions that drive the minds of children away from learning in their homes since they are not used to. Some have always been watching television as well as playing with friends. Some of the children are also found roaming seeing the closure as a holiday. “If children are to resume schooling, I’m sure many will go to school empty headed”, a parent said. While parents with formal education actively involve their children in the E-learning, it is an option for those without. They rather push them to go in search of jobs to make ends meet since they are home.

Since the closure of schools and universities, most school administrations have been trying to make-up with their students but many are the problems they are facing. While some of the students are happy the teaching and learning didn’t end abruptly since the closure, most are worried because of the challenges they are going through with some not being able to partake at all so they are looking forward for it to be fully reopened for effective learning to resume.

Photo Credit: tantvstudios.com

Social Dstancing And How It Can Be Effectively Uilized

In sense of greeting or showing affection to a friend or an acquaintance after a long absence, people often shake hands, hug or kiss cheeks. Oftentimes, people find themselves among friends having fun, chatting, laughing their heads out or outgoing. On market days, people mostly crowd at market places purchasing goods as well as during public holidays, people are mostly found crowded at beaches having fun. But in response to the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19), health officials are asking us to do something that does not come naturally to our very social species: stay away from each other.

The disease spread from person to person through small droplets from the nose which are spread when a person with COVID-19 coughs or exhales. These droplets land on objects and surfaces around the person. Other people then catch COVID-19 by touching the objects and surfaces then touching their eyes, nose or mouth. People also catch COVID-19 if they breathe in droplets from a person with COVID-19 who coughs out or exhales droplets. In view of this, health workers had to call in for social distancing to curb the spread of the virus.

Social distancing can be explained as the act of maintaining a physical distance between people and objects especially during the outbreak of a contagious disease in order to minimize exposure and reduce the transmission of infection. In curbing the spread of the virus, one has to distance him/herself from others and objects.

“The coronavirus spreading around the world is calling on us to suppress our profoundly human hand wired impulses for connection: seeing our friends getting together in groups or teaching each other”, said Nicholas Christakis.

But of all this, we still ought to know that social distancing doesn’t mean emotional distancing. Although we may not be able to be with each other right now, we can still be there for each other. With the help of mobile phones and other mechanisms, we can still stay in touch with friends and relatives while at home socially distancing. We also have to make sure we spend the best time with our family while at home.

Moreover, social distancing helps us to protect ourselves and protect others as well. If a person doesn’t go out where he/she will find him/herself among crowds, he/she reduces the risk of contracting the virus as well a spreading it. This then tends out to slow the transmission of the virus.

Also, people often find themselves busy with work or other activities but in the period of socially distancing, one gets time to relax and reconnect with him/herself. One gets time to tackle activities that needs to be done while at home, watch a movie he/she has been longing to watch, cook a desired dish or learn a recipe. This helps protect one’s solitude and protect that of others as well.

While socially distancing, one needs to give much attention to his/her health. One needs to eat a balanced diet and always workout. This helps to keep the body in good health otherwise, one will not be able to keep the mind strong and clear.

One can also start writing about how his/her day has been going, his/her intentions while socially distancing and after the social distancing period and who knows, one might even end up writing a book.

As well, one can start learning something new. This can be done by taking a course online or learning a new language. One can also start blogging or podcasting as well as reading the book one has intended reading for long.

Despite the fact that staying away from our very own species is something that doesn’t come naturally, we ought to know that it is but for a period of time and we can make the best out of it.


Photo Source: Kuulpeeps

Lockdown and Its Economic Impact on Ghanaians

 In developing countries like Ghana, one of the most crucial challenges faced by majority of its citizens is low per capita income. Quite a number of its working citizens find themselves in the term “hand to mouth” (consume what earned) especially those with the menial jobs.

 On Friday, March 27, 2020, the President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akuffo-Addo imposed a restriction on the movement of persons in the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area, Kumasi Metropolitan Area and contagious Districts for a period of two weeks (14 days) which was subject to review due to the rapid increasing rate in the spread of the novel coronavirus. This meant that everyone residing in these areas had to stay at home for two weeks with the exception of frontline workers like health practitioners, military and policemen, media personnel, among other stakeholders. But essential movements such as going out for food, water, medicine, banking transactions or public transactions were tolerated.

As a result of the rapid continuous increase in the spread of the disease, the President later on reviewed the lockdown restriction adding an additional week to the two weeks partial lockdown which started from Monday, April 13 and ended on Sunday, April 19, 2020.

 So the question is; What has been the economic impact of the partial lockdown on Ghanaians so far?

 Traders started complaining about the reduction in the purchasing of goods since the street was so quiet. Some of them had to throw away some of their stuffs such as: tomatoes, pepper, yam, garden eggs etc. since they got spoilt because people weren’t purchasing them. Most of them started protesting saying they knew the lockdown was needed to curb the spread of the virus but were not in position to survive it. This led to a great fall in their businesses and left them nothing to feed on.

 

Trotro and taxi drivers who make income on a daily basis have also been greatly affected. Some said when they go to work, they come back home with empty vehicles so it is better they stay at home. This became a difficult period for them to deal with because they have a family to feed.

 Many businesses have also been greatly affected as a result of the lockdown. Most stores, restaurants and hotels went to a total close and this really costed them a lot because that is their major source of income.

 Taking into consideration, many people, especially people in the deprived areas of Greater Accra and Kumasi and the non-working populace has also been greatly affected due to the imposition of the lockdown.

 Some said if the lockdown had continued, it would have been a disaster so they were relieved to get back to work since the imposition of the lockdown has been lifted.


 Photo Source:
Photo 1 Voice of America
            2 GhanaWeb

The Youth And Streetism

Children begging on the street to survive

It is often said, “the youth of today are the leaders of tomorrow” but it really saddens me

 with the number of youths found on the streets today and this has become a norm in

 the sight of men of which no one seems to care about.

In Ghana, more than 90,000 children are found on the street. Most of them are found

 in cities like Accra, Temale and Kumasi with Accra bearing more than 50,000 of 

them and this increases daily.

Due to factors like rural urban migration, poverty, parental neglect, economic hardship

 among others, most children are found on the street and have even made the street 

their home. In order to survive they go around begging, cleaning the screen of cars to

 get something to feed on and quite a few also find something to sell so that they won’t

 go to bed with an empty stomach.

In an interview with a number of street-children at Osu, one young man said the street 

has been his home for about five years and begging is his only means of survival. He said “in order not to go to bed on an empty stomach, I have to beg and to some extent when I don’t get any money I am forced to steal”. Some also said they go to houses and at times to refuse dumps in search of food. Some of the children preferred to be on the streets other than any other places due to minor treatment at school and home but has nothing to do with financial conditions. Unlike truancy, some children are born by parents on the streets so automatically, this makes the street their home.

Children sleeping on the street

As a result of these factors, children are exposed to a lot of health problems. Major disease affecting street-children include malaria, cold, fever, rashes, cholera and other infections. Most children also lose their lives as a result of starvation. In Ghana, most of the social vices we face are as a result of streetism and this really posses a greater threat to the nation.

Children go about abusing drugs, becoming armed robbers, prostitutes, kidnappers and all other vices in order to survive since they do not get access to formal education and learning a handy work as well. Most children on the street also find themselves being physically and sexually harassed by strangers and this results in unwanted pregnancy, contraction of diseases and sometimes leads to death.

In order to effectively handle streetism, educating and supporting our youth is the best way to invest in a prosperous future. Through public education, children, parent and guardians will see the effect of streetism to the nation and the danger it poses to the youth.As there is the saying, “we cannot build the future for our youth but we can build the youth for a better future”, this counts on the Government as a whole and the Department of Social Welfare that all youths are properly built because they are the future of the nation.


Photo credit: 1. classicghana,com
                      2. kessbenfm.com

Teen Mothers; The Cause And Effect

In the low middle income countries, about 21 million adolescent girls aged 15-19 years

 are estimated to get pregnant and about 16 million give birth annually. Globally, 

adolescent pregnancy is expected to increase by 2030 with high concentrations in

 Sub-Saharan Africa (Darroch et al.., United Nations Population Fund).

Already, the highest teenage pregnancy rates are recorded in Africa and Ghana suffers

 to be among these African countries. In the Nations statistics of teenage pregnancy,

 the percentage of teenage mothers (percentage of women ages 15-19 who have had

 children or are currently pregnant) increases rapidly.

Numerous factors documented to be major contributors to adolescent pregnancies

 includes; lack of formal education about sexual and reproductive health and rights,

 broken homes, lack of family attention, peer pressure, early and forced marriage,

 poverty, etc.

Due to becoming pregnant during adolescence, teen mothers are likely to drop out

 of school. This means that a very high percentage of teen mothers will not even go 

on to graduate from high school. Because of financial challenges facing teen mothers,

 it leads to poor living conditions and the inability to maintain a safe and clean

 environment for their newborn child. The child is then likely to live in poverty because

 of its mother’s lack of financial resources. Moreover, the child is deprived economically 

as well as educationally. The child is likely to drop out of school and is yielded into 

streetism, drug abuse, arm robbery, etc.

In order to prevent teenage pregnancy, teenagers need to have a comprehensive

 understanding of abstinence, contraceptive techniques and consequences.
 Although there are many different ways of preventing a teenager from getting pregnant,
 the only way that is absolutely effective is sexual abstinence.

TESHIE IS FULL OF FILTH-CRIES IT’S INHABITANTS

Teshie, a coastal town in the Ledzokuku Krowor Municipal District, a district in the Greater Accra Region, the capital city of Ghana cries over filth in the town.

Teshie is the ninth most populous settlement in Ghana. It is rich in diversity as a result of the country's current democracy and development program. Teshie is believed to have been in existence for over 300 years but over the past years, the town has really faced enormous challenges over filth.

In a discussion with a one young man, Elvis Adjetey, an inhabitant of Gbugla a place in Teshie said, "over the past twenty years I have been in Teshie, dumping of refuse at inappropriate places is what have been going on here. People dump refuse anywhere they like. It can be on the road way, at the seashorse, behind people’s houses, to the extent that when it rains people dump them into the flowing water”. In his further speech, I discovered that due to these activities of the people, many children are being affected by diseases such as cholera and malaria.

Many traders sell food by the roads where gutters are filled with filth. Due to this, flies settle on the food been sold. Thus, when children buy from such places, they take in contaminated food which brings about cholera. Others are also suffering from malaria as a result of mosquitoes breeding in stagnant waters, empty can filled with water etc. Due to these factors, many lives are being lost.

Interviewing quiet a number of people, they said they need the intervention of the government because this has been a major problem facing it’s inhabitants especially those around the coast.