The National Democratic Congress (NDC) is calling for the immediate closure of all Senior High Schools (SHS) in the country.

The demand, the party says, is due to the fact that the students are only being kept in school so the Electoral Commission can register them in the ongoing voter registration exercise despite the continuous spike in Covid-19 cases in the country.

With close to 10 Senior High Schools reporting some cases of the virus, government says schools won't be shut down since all final year students must prepare for their exit exams.

The development has generated massive debate on social media with parents and guardians expressing worry.

Backing the debate at the party's 7th weekly media engagement, National Communications Officer for the NDC, Sammy Gyamfi accused government of prioritizing elections over the lives of innocent students

"Is it not cruel, that at a time over 10 of the reopened Senior High Schools have recorded infections on their campuses, and parents have been prevented from visiting their wards as a so-called Covid-19 precautionary measure, President Akufo Addo has opened the same schools, for his party NPP and the Electoral Commission, who prioritizes political power than human lives, to go in there and engage in political activities which have the tendency to endanger the lives of our innocent SHS students?" he asked.

Arguing his case further, Mr. Gyamfi said Ghana has nothing to loss should the academic year be canceled as done by other African countries due to the outbreak of the pandemic.

"As we speak, Nigeria, a major participant in the WASSCE exam has rescinded its decision to reopen schools, while Kenya has also decided to close schools until 2021. We urge President Akufo-Addo to prioritize human lives over electoral fancies."

The party also used the platform to condemn the National Youth Organiser of the NPP for campaigning in an SHS and asked the Ghana Education Service to sanction any headteacher who allows their school to be used as campaign ground.

"We call on all and sundry to condemn the action of the National Youth Organizer of the NPP, Henry Nana Boakye for leading the shameful agenda of making SHS their hotbed of political activity during these perilous times.

"We further demand that in consonance with GES regulations, the Headmaster of that Senior High School in Kumasi should be interdicted immediately in order to serve the ends of justice," he said.