Leadership of the University Teachers Association (UTAG) has disclosed that the Association was left out in consultations on a reopening date for tertiary institutions.
This was disclosed by National President of UTAG Professor Charles Marfo who spoke on JoyFM’s Super Morning Show, Tuesday
“UTAG in particular was not consulted. I’ve always said that maybe it’s because we’ve had the various University management who are also our members [being consulted] but UTAG as a body was not consulted,” he said.
This comes on the heels of the reopening of schools after schools were shut in 2020 following the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic in the country.
Delivering his 21st address on measures to mitigate the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the country, President Akufo-Addo officially announced the reopening of schools, expressing the conviction that the circumstances are rife for such a move.
He stated that basic schools are to resume school on January 15, 2021.
“All SHS 1 students will start class from 10th March and all the students embarking on the single-track academic calendar, their seniors in SHS 2 and SHS 3 will, however, return to school from 18th January,” the President added.
Tertiary students resumed school on Monday, January 11, although the President was silent on a reopening date for tertiary students.
Reacting to the reopening of schools, Professor Charles Marfo said most members of the teaching staff have welcomed the news, despite the possible impact of the pandemic.
“Looking at what has been happening around the round, going back to school and knowing that there’s still Covid-19, I would say it is scary.
“But then knowing that we’ve been home for about nine months, what I have gathered on the grounds is that just as the students, lecturers are also yearning to go back to school,” he said.
However, he expressed concern over the neglect of the safety protocols in some schools, stating that, this can cause another surge in the country’s Covid-19 positive cases.
While calling for strict enforcement of the Covid-19 safety protocols on various campuses, he further called for public education to be intensified on the need to observe the protocols.
“Frequent and rampant education will begin to put some sense of urgency and seriousness into most of the citizenry,” he said.
“With what I’ve been hearing from various campuses, there is a need to put some seriousness into the management of Covid-19.
“Yes, people are worried about the rate of infection but then people also want to get back into the classroom, he added.
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