Letter From Education Minister, Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh To Ghanaian Students

Dear students,

Over the past five weeks, your academic work has been disrupted because of the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic in our country. President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo took the bold and necessary decision to close down our educational institutions to protect you and the nation from this deadly disease which has claimed many lives across the world.

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I am concerned about your continuous learning, particularly as we near the end of the academic year. I can imagine the uncertainties about reopening dates and examination timetables weighing on your mind and perhaps affecting your preparations, especially for those of you in your final year.

I assure you that the Ministry of Education, the Ghana Education Service and the Universities are in close and regular contact with the Ghana Health Service and the Ministry of Health. The reopening dates of our various educational institutions shall depend on the expert advice of our health professionals managing the pandemic to ensure that we have a safe back-to-school process.

In the meantime, we have created various platforms for pre-tertiary education on television and online to enable you continue with structured and self-guided learning activities. For TV, we are currently broadcasting content for SHS core subjects on the Ghana Learning TV. It is available on free to air TV as well as on DStv channel 315, GOtv channel 150 and StarTimes channel 312. Very soon, we will be broadcasting content for KG to JHS as well.
Additionally, we are producing learning content for radio to be broadcast across the country.

For online, we have resources available for SHS students on iCampus Ghana which can be accessed via icampusgh.com. In the near future, content for KG to JHS pupils and students will also be made available on this platform. For tertiary students, various universities are deploying Learning Management Systems to help students continue their education remotely. We are aware of the challenges students are facing with the cost of data and have agreed with telecommunications networks (Vodafone and MTN) to zero-rate educational content online on platforms.

For the time being, I encourage you to stay at home and adhere to all safety regulations during these difficult times. I also encourage you to draw up personal daily timetables to engage in learning through the platforms we have provided. Pick up new healthy hobbies, read widely (free e-books available on the Ghana Library Authority app) and exchange learning ideas with your peers.

I wish you well and look forward to the resumption of school and learning in the face-to-face environment when it is safe to do so.

Sgd.
Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh
Minister for Education