Parents express worry over class sizes as schools reopen

They said the class sizes would make it difficult for the schools to observe the social distancing protocol and to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

The government has announced re-opening of schools from the kindergarten, primary, Junior High School and the Senior High School after the schools were closed in March 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

However, they expressed worry that government did not ask the schools to ensure a reduction in the number of students that could seat in a class.

While they agreed that the schools should be opened, they wanted government to give a clear instruction as to how social distancing would be observed in the classrooms to minimise the spread of not only the coronavirus but even coughs and cold.

The parents were of the view that the social distancing would reduce congestion, which was common in many public schools, and added that reducing the class size to observe the social distancing was key in the preventive measures.

Mr Kwame Apati, a parent, in an interview, said that his children aged six and eight were in public schools with class sizes of 54 and 61 respectively.

He wondered how such children could observe the social distancing protocol if the class size was not reduced to limit the spread of the disease.

He said common infections such as cold and cough usually spread quickly in the class due to the congestion and appealed to the Ghana Education Service (GES) to find a way to reduce the class sizes to limit the spread of the coronavirus.

Madam Joyce Yayo, a retired nurse, and a grandmother said she had always expressed worry over the class sizes in her grandchildren’s school and would find it difficult to allow them to go back to school.

She said the social distancing protocol was very important, especially when all the levels, including kindergarten, were going back to school and appealed to the GES to ensure that class sizes would be reduced to protect the children from the disease.