Northern Regional Minister, Mr Salifu Saeed, has said the continuous staying at home by students will permanently truncate their chance of getting education and put them away from school forever.
According to the minister, lots of the female students currently at home because of Covid-19 are getting pregnant because some of them, their families cannot guarantee them three square meals a day.
He made the comments when he met journalists in Tamale last Sunday, July 27, 2020, during the second phase of nationwide disinfection and fumigation of markets and public places.
“But if you look at our markets right from Makola, Abgbgloshie, Tamale, Bimbila, Walewale to Navrongo, you will see the young ones who are selling on the various markets and these are students exposed without using face mask or practicing social distancing,” he stated.
“These students are even more at risk as they are staying at home than confining in the school environment.”
Mr. Saeed, therefore, tasked all Ghanaians to look beyond the Covid-19 spectacle before making remarks of closing schools for this year because those in schools are even more protected than being at home.
“Many of these students are tired of staying at home because they just wake up each morning roaming aimlessly in town and are more exposed to the virus than those in school,” he said.
“Those who are calling for schools to close down should rethink again because I am a local person even though I’m a minister, I go to the grass root, local communities and markets are flooded with these same students.”