Member of Parliament for the Ningo Prampram Constituency Samuel Nartey George has questioned government’s assertion of engaging stakeholders.

According to him, the stakeholders in question are complaining about the decision to reopen schools.

“Who is government listening to when they say they are listening to expert advice and engaging stakeholder consultation? All the stakeholders involved here, parents, the children, the medical practitioners are all complaining,” he told Samson Lardy Anyenini on Newsfile.

He stated categorically that the safety protocols that have been put in place are not enough to take care of the spread of the virus in the schools.

In his view, graduating the students based on their continuous assessment record would have been a safe option in these times.

“If we had a proper continuous assessment regime like Nigeria and Kenya are doing, it would make sense for us to graduate these children by using the continuous assessment and not just one examination,” he said.

The MP stated that there was no need for Junior High School (JHS) pupils in particular to be sent back to school since they liable to infections as they travel to and fro.

He added that government must take proactive measures to curtail the spread of Covid-19 in schools.

He noted that not all teaching and non-teaching staff in the schools are resident on the campus hence pose a risk to the students

“Have we put in the right framework that is going to allow for the students to be taken care of?” He quizzed.

Samuel stated that if there is the insistence for schools to remain open, government must bear the cost to test all students and staff.

“I am honestly of the view, like the NDC that the best way to be proactive by doing mass testing. We must test every child in school,” George stated.