There shall be no form of religious activity in schools once they reopen following President Nana Akufo-Addo’s relaxation of the COVD-19 restrictions, Dr Mathew Opoku Prempeh, Minister of Education, has said on Tuesday, 2 June 2020.

This is to prevent the virus from further spreading, he said at a press conference in Accra.

“When schools reopen, they will not be available for religious activities. It is simple. We do not want too many interactions so that we can trace who might have come to the school with the virus. So, we want to keep it that only students and their lecturers are in school.

“When the junior and senior schools reopen, there will be no visitors allowed during the period that they are in school. Parents can no longer go and visit their kids for that period”, Dr Opoku Prempeh said.

While announcing the easing of the restrictions on Sunday, 31 May 2020, President Akufo-Addo said: “From Monday, 15 June 2020, the decision has been taken, after engagement with the Teacher Unions, whose co-operation I salute, to re-open schools and universities to allow for final-year junior high, senior high and university students to resume classes ahead of the conduct of their respective exit examinations”.

“Indeed, final-year university students are to report to their universities on 15th June; final-year senior high school (SHS 3) students, together with SHS 2 Gold Track students, on 22nd June; and final-year junior high school (JHS 3) students on 29th June. JHS 3 classes will comprise a maximum of thirty (30) students; SHS classes a maximum of twenty-five (25) students; and University lectures will take place with half the class sizes”.

“All final-year students of educational and training institutions, which are being managed by Ministries other than the Education Ministry, are to return to school on 15th June to complete their exit examinations.

“Again, prior to the opening of schools and universities, the Ministry of Education, and the heads of public and private educational institutions, will fumigate and disinfect their institutions.

“Each student, teacher, and non-teaching staff will be provided with re-usable face masks by the Ministry of Education. For the avoidance of doubt, all other educational facilities, private and public, for non-final-year students, will remain closed”.