UNIVERSITY OF CAPE COAST

COLLEGE OF DISTANCE EDUCATION

THE IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON PRIVATE SCHOOL PUPILS IN PRIVATE

SCHOOLS IN THE ASUNAFO SOUTH DISTRICT

ISSAH FUSENI

BEP/AS/01/18/0283

2020
 ABSTARCT

The study examined the impact of Covid-19 on pupils in private schools. This study will

specifically look at Covid-19 and its effects on pupils of private school. It was discovered

the school closures was one of the most visible and controversial means by which Covid-

19 is affecting young people. According to UNESCO, the education of nearly 1.6 billion

pupils in 190 countries was affected that’s 90% of the world’s school-age children. Since

the pandemic started, governments and educators all over the world have responded in

stride, finding innovative ways to keep children learning. The Ghana learning television

channel launched to help educate children in other to compensate for the loss of contact

hours with teachers in school is one such innovation. This situation contributed to the

decline in academic performance of children. Already, parents and guardians are struggling

to keep up with their new forced role as educators. It was recommended that Governments

should prepare to immediately get children back in school once Covid-19 is under control

locally with careful public health planning, in line with World Health Organization

guidance, to prevent and control the spread of Covid-19 including by following up

individually with children who do not show up for classes and try to re-engage them. This

should include support to girls who married or became pregnant or parents during the

school closure. Before schools physically re-open, those offering remote learning should

track which students participate, reach out to those not participating, and try to help them

re-engage.
 INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study

Education is a tool which provides people with knowledge, skill, technique,

information, enables them to know their rights and duties toward their family, society as

well as the nation. It expands vision and outlook to see the world. It develops the

capabilities to fight against injustice, violence, corruption and many other bad elements

in the society. Education gives us knowledge of the world around us. It develops in us a

perspective of looking at life. It is the most important element in the evolution of the

nation. Without education, one will not explore new ideas. It means one will not able to

develop the world because without ideas there is no creativity and without creativity, there

is no development of the nation. Many developing countries, including Ghana, have

identified education, particularly basic education, as a basic human right which every must

have access to for their development and consequently the development. of the entire

nation. However, this realization has not yielded much fruit in these countries because

demand for education outstrips supply due in part, to scarcity of capital (Abayode, 1983).

These problems, have made it increasingly difficult for governments alone to shoulder the

full responsibility of education provision. In Ghana, in 1980/81, government expenditure

on education as a percentage of total recurrent and development budget was 17.1 percent.

This figure increased to 20.4 percent in 1983/84 and again increased to 26.7 percent in

1985/86. (Ghana Statistical Service,1987). The 1999 figure was put at 36 percent

(Bcnneh,1999), while the 2003 figure stood at around 40 percent. In spite of these

increases, the education sector still needs more resources to expand and improve existing

facilities to raise the standard of education in the country. It has therefore become
increasingly necessary for private sector participation in providing education facilities in

the country to supplement government’s efforts.

ISSER Director, Prof Peter Quartey spoke to the Business and Financial Times on

the impact of coronavirus on effect of COVID-19 on private schools, according to him,

the new corona virus (COVID-19) which scientists believe originated from the Hubei

province in China has shaken the entire world and brought the global economy to its knees.

It has claimed several lives and Ghana has not been spared though not on the scale

recorded in USA, Italy, Spain, UK, South Africa etc. The threat of the virus has affected

all three sectors of Ghana’s economy, namely, agriculture, industry and services. The

hardest hit includes education, hotels and tourism, restaurants, import and export trade to

mention but a few. The President of Ghana, H.E Nana Addo Akuffo Addo acted swiftly

and proactively, first to close down schools, churches and mosques; ban social gatherings

and later closed the borders of Ghana to passenger traffic to stop the importation of the

virus into the country. This move was followed by a lockdown of three major cities,

namely Accra, Tema and Kumasi for two weeks. According to UNESCO (2020), the

education of nearly 1.6 billion pupils in 190 countries has so far been affected, that’s 90%

of the world’s school-age children. And at the time of writing, there are still no definite

plans for opening the schools of around half of these children. Pupils have been out of

school since march 2020, This study will examine the effects of the Covid-19 on pupils.

Statement of the Problem

According to Holt (1967) children carry what they are taught at a young age

throughout the rest of their lives. They will use what they have learned to influence society.

Everyone knows that today’s youth will become tomorrow’s leaders, and teachers have
access to educate the youth in their most impressionable years, whether that is in teaching

preschool, teaching extracurriculars, sports or traditional classes. Schools have the ability

to shape leaders of the future in the best way for society to build positive and inspired future

generations and therefore design society, both on a local and global scale. In reality, schools

have the most important job in the world. Those who have an impact on the children of

society have the power to change lives. Not just for those children themselves, but for the

lives of all. Abernathy, T. (2001) discovered teachers to be the most significant elements

of education system. Ghana confirmed its first case of coronavirus on March 12 and has

since reported a total of 287 infections and five deaths (Ghana Health Service, 2020). On

the 15th of March, President Nana Akufo-Addo of Ghana ordered the closure of all

education institutions in Ghana, effecting some 9.2 million basic school students

(kindergarten, primary and junior high schools and 0.5 million tertiary education students.

President Nana Akufo-Addo announced during his state address that academic activities

were to resume next year, 2021. This is in a bid to prevent the possible spread of

Coronavirus when the masses of students converge on their campuses (Myjoyonile,2020).

Private schools’ pupils were most affected since they have been home without any tuition

or extra curricula activities. Though there have been some initiatives like online tutorials,

televised teachings on national television for kids, not all have benefited from this

initiative. This calls for a study into how the Covid-19 has impacted pupils in private

schools.

Objectives of the Study

The study aimed at examining the impact of Covid-19 on pupils in private schools.

Specifically, the study explored Covid-19 and its effects on pupils of private school.
Significance of the Study

Challenges will be made known to the government, Ministry of education and

stakeholders.
 LITERATURE REVIEW

Coronavirus

According to Wikipedia, The COVID-19 pandemic in Ghana is part of the

worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute

respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first two cases in Ghana were

confirmed on 12 March 2020, when two infected people came to Ghana, one from Norway

and the other from Turkey. Greater Accra, Ashanti and Upper West regions recorded cases

in March. At an emergency press briefing on 12 March 2020 Health Minister Kwaku

Agyemang-Manu announced Ghana's first two confirmed cases (in Accra). The two cases

were people who returned to the country from Norway and Turkey which made them the

first actual cases of COVID-19 in Ghana. These two cases initiated the first contact tracing

process in Ghana. Of the first two cases reported in Ghana, one case was a senior officer

at the Norwegian Embassy in Ghana who had returned from Norway; while the other was

a staff member at the United Nations (UN) offices in Ghana who had returned from Turkey.

By the end of the month there had been 152 confirmed cases, 5 deaths, and 22 recovered

patients, leaving 125 active cases going into April. Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is an

infectious disease caused by a new coronavirus belonging to the SARS-COV family. Most

people infested with COVID-19 will feel mild to moderate respiratory illness and may

recover without special treatment. Older people, and those with underlying health

problems like diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer and chronic respiratory illness are

more likely to develop grave illness. One of the important ways to contain and slow

the spread is to intensify education on the mode of trans mission and the signs and
symptoms of the disease. Guard yourself and others against infection by using an

alcohol-based sanitizer regularly or washing your hands and not touching your face

Effect of Coronavirus on Private School and Its Students

According to Nisah-Pepreah (2004) the public education sector faces serious

problems including inadequate coverage, inability to enroll majority of children within the

school-going age and poor academic performance of pupils. As a result, private schools

have assumed greater importance in the country. In fact. their contribution to the

development of education in the country has improved tremendously. However, the private

schools also face problems which include inadequate funds, poor infrastructure and poor

teacher quality. The President of Ghana, H.E Nana Addo Akuffo Addo acted swiftly and

proactively, first to close down schools, churches and mosques; ban social gatherings and

later closed the borders of Ghana to passenger traffic to stop the importation of the virus

into the country. This move was followed by a lockdown of three major cities, namely

Accra, Tema and Kumasi for two weeks. Subsequently measures were put in place to

cushion affected members of society especially the vulnerable and less privileged. A

number of private businesses including private schools impacted negatively by COVID-19

have started downsizing. Ghana Christian High International School for instance has laid

off some workers and agreed to pay 50% salaries to the remaining staff from April 2020.

Other private schools are taking the same measures since fees are collected per term and

therefore teaching and non-teaching staff can only be remunerated when these fees are

collected at the beginning of the term. According to Mohammed Nurudeen the situation

was “very bad” because “gone are the days where you will see parents trooping in and

bringing in their wards to seek admission.” He noted that in the past, his school normally
did not have problems with admission “but as we speak, the numbers that we get this time

around we are not getting these numbers because of the free SHS. The 2019 coronavirus

epidemic has affected educational arrangements globally, leading to the near-total closing

of schools, colleges and universities. The more serious concern is that, when schools are

closed for long periods, many children will begin to forget what they already know – a

regression that will be much harder to remedy. Marcotte (2020) points to studies of

children’s progress over the school year. As you might expect, most children show steady

improvements throughout the terms, but this can regress – sometimes radically – during

the long summer school holiday, particularly in subjects such as maths. “In the United

States, about 25% of what is gained during the academic year is lost over the course of the

summer,” Marcotte says. Not all children will be affected in the same way – leading some

experts to fear that this will widen the (already highly significant) gap in educational

achievement between richer and poorer families. According to Human Rights Watch

Africa (2020) “Children are not taught during this period,” said an education official in

Congo in June echoing the experiences of many children across the continent. Although

some students had received printed assignments, she said, “We cannot say that this is

normal education.” One Congolese student told us, for example, “We were just told to

regularly reread our notes while waiting for new instructions from the authorities… At

first, I thought school would start again soon so I didn’t read my notes and then when I saw

that it was going to go on, I started to read them. I’d forgotten a lot.” Chéckina M., 13, in

Kinshasa, said she was given a study book by her school when it closed, but afterwards

had no contact with her teachers. “I reread my old lessons… I find math difficult to study

at home [alone].” Human Rights Watch Africa (2020) also reported from In Zambia, just
before 15-year-old Natalie L.’s school closed, “The headmistress came through the classes

and told us to study on our own.” Natalie uses books she already had. “Most topics are

difficult to understand without the help of a teacher.” She said, “It’s been a little bit nerve-

racking. Next year I have my [school leaving] examination and I think I will have to work

harder for that.” Parents and teachers in the Central African Republic said in June that there

had been no teaching since school closed. A mother of a 6-year-old girl in Bangui said she

tries to get her daughter to do revision exercises, and three times a week they listen to

classes on the radio. “But it is a program which is not specific for each level of class. It’s

too complex… Our children have not had any support during this time of pandemic. I fear

a drop in children’s level after all this time lost.” Dekha A., 14, in Kenya, said her school

sends revision papers to parents via WhatsApp twice a month. “A marking scheme is sent

once the students have made an attempt and the papers are meant to be marked by the

parents… The teachers do not communicate directly with us.” School closings impact not

only teachers, students and families, but have extensive economic and societal costs.

School closings in response to COVID-19 have thrown light on numerous social and

economic issues, including homelessness, digital learning, student debt and food insecurity

as well as health care, access to childcare, housing, disability services and internet. The

impact was severe for underprivileged families, and their children, causing intermittent

learning, conceded nutrition, childcare complications, and resultant economic cost to

families who could not work. Efforts to stalk the spread of COVID-19 through non-

pharmaceutical involvements and protective procedures such as self-isolation and social-

distancing have sparked the extensive closure of all tertiary, second cycle and basic
schooling in more than 100 countries. Previous epidemics impelled widespread school

closings round the world, with varying stages of effectiveness.

Conclusion

The study aimed at examining the impact of Covid-19 on pupils in private schools.

It was discovered governments and educators all over the world had responded in stride,

finding innovative ways to keep children learning. The Ghana learning television channel

launched to help educate children in other to compensate for the loss of contact hours with

teachers in school is one such innovation. How helpful are these television learning

sessions to the many school going children who live in areas without televisions or access

to electricity? And how do we answer the questions children with access may have while

they learn? This situation will likely contribute to the decline in academic performance of

children. Already, parents and guardians are struggling to keep up with their new forced

role as educators. Clearly, in this time of ‘house arrest’ surfing the internet is going to be

the order of the day. Research indicates that the internet is a new and innovative medium

that can completely change the lives of people much as television did in the 1950s and

1960 (Kim 2003). Kim argues that the number of kids and teens who are using the internet

is growing fast every year. Obviously, children in Ghana today cannot do away with the

internet. What are they reading and watching? on the internet? Who is controlling what

they read and watch on the internet? I strongly believe these questions and many others

must be asked during this pandemic. Children are likely to be exposed to novel and

dangerous behaviors if surfing the internet is not checked. Some of these foreign behaviors

on the internet can have negative repercussions on the moral standards of the Ghanaian

child especially during this period.

Recommendation

It is therefore recommended governments should prepare to immediately get

children back in school once Covid-19 is under control locally with careful public health

planning, in line with World Health Organization guidance, to prevent and control the

spread of Covid-19 including by following up individually with children who do not show

up for classes and try to re-engage them. This should include support to girls who married

or became pregnant or parents during the school closure. Before schools physically re-

open, those offering remote learning should track which students participate, reach out to

those not participating, and try to help them re-engage. Any governmental and non-

governmental efforts to encourage children to return to school when schools reopen should

be over-inclusive that is, should also be directed at children who were excluded from

education due to other causes prior to the pandemic. When schools reopen, governments

should ensure that all students have access to free primary education, and ensure secondary

education is accessible and free. As part of their Covid-19 response packages, governments

should provide financial support to offset school-related expenses for children whose

families suffered economic hardship and would not be able to return to school otherwise.

In countries where girls’ enrollment or completion of secondary school is lower than boys’,

governments should consider launching or continuing financial incentives to ensure parents

enable girls return to school as soon as it is safe. Governments should provide remedial

education for children who were unable to follow distance education and for children who

were out of school due to other causes prior to the pandemic. Governments should

especially focus on children most excluded or at risk: including children with disabilities,
children living in poverty, refugee and migrant children, children who work, children in

rural areas, paying particular attention to girls within these groups.

 REFERENCE

Abraham, A. (2020). How COVID-19 may increase domestic violence and child abuse.

Benneth, G (1999) Financing Education in Ghana in Pioneer Newspaper. Thursday,

January 7, Abura Printing Works Ltd., Kumasi, p.2.

Ghana Statistical Service, (l 987). Ghana in Figures. Government Printer, Accra p. 12.

Human Rights Watch interview with education official, Butembo, North Kivu, Democratic

Republic of Congo, June 10, 2020.

Kim Y. (2003). The impact of the internet on Children’s daily lives: Physical, Social and

Nsiah‐Peprah, Y. (2004). Assessment of the role of private schools in the development of

education in Ghana: a study of the Kumasi Metropolis. Journal of Science and

Technology, 24(2): 54–75.

Nurudeen, M. (2019). https://www.mordernghana.com/news/802144/free-shs-killing

private schools.html

Platt W. M.(196l) Towards Strategics of Education. Standard Research. International

Industrial Development Centre, Monie Park, California.

Psychological Well-being. Athens, Georgia

Retrieved from https://www.apa.org/topics/covid-19/domestic-violence-child-

abuse

The Asian School (2020). https://www.theasianschool.net/blog/importance-of-education/