The Upsurge of COVID-19 Cases Amidst the Reopening of Schools in Ghana: The Role of Teachers as Frontline Workers

Eric Twum Ampofo; Robert Ampomah; Papa Kofi Amissah-Reynolds; Samuel Ebo Owusu; Michael Opoku-Manu

doi:doi:10.11648/j.ijsedu.20200803.13

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The Upsurge of COVID-19 Cases Amidst the Reopening of Schools in Ghana: The Role of Teachers as Frontline Workers

Eric Twum Ampofo, Robert Ampomah, Papa Kofi Amissah-Reynolds, Samuel Ebo Owusu, Michael Opoku-Manu

Published in International Journal of Secondary Education (Volume 8, Issue 3)

Received: 3 August 2020 Accepted: 17 August 2020 Published: 25 August 2020

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Abstract

The novel coronavirus disease is a global pandemic and gradually teachers are beginning to find themselves on the frontline of educational delivery as lots of countries, including Ghana, ease up restrictions and reopen schools. The main aim of this article was to present evidence to validate teachers’ role as frontline workers amid rising cases of COVID-19. Also, we looked at the measures the government put in place prior to the reopening vis-a-vis their adequacy. Again, we examined reasons for the emerging increase in cases of COVID-19 infections among teachers and strategies to overcome this problem. So far, available evidence suggest that about 24% of teachers are being increasingly infected with the novel disease. Major factors accounting for COVID-19 infections among teachers include inadequate preparation before reopening of schools, a lack of understanding of the epidemiology of the disease, unavailability of PPEs, and psychological stress. We, therefore recommend that protection of students, teachers and non-teaching staff should be of topmost priority of the government through the education and training, provision of appropriate incentives, provision of PPEs and the requisite psychological support.

Published in	International Journal of Secondary Education (Volume 8, Issue 3)
DOI	10.11648/j.ijsedu.20200803.13
Page(s)	96-102
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2020. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

COVID-19, Teachers’ Role, Teachers’ Preparation, Infection Among Teachers, Impact of Education, Students’ Indifference

References

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APA Style

Eric Twum Ampofo, Robert Ampomah, Papa Kofi Amissah-Reynolds, Samuel Ebo Owusu, Michael Opoku-Manu. (2020). The Upsurge of COVID-19 Cases Amidst the Reopening of Schools in Ghana: The Role of Teachers as Frontline Workers. International Journal of Secondary Education, 8(3), 96-102. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijsedu.20200803.13

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ACS Style

Eric Twum Ampofo; Robert Ampomah; Papa Kofi Amissah-Reynolds; Samuel Ebo Owusu; Michael Opoku-Manu. The Upsurge of COVID-19 Cases Amidst the Reopening of Schools in Ghana: The Role of Teachers as Frontline Workers. Int. J. Second. Educ. 2020, 8(3), 96-102. doi: 10.11648/j.ijsedu.20200803.13

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AMA Style

Eric Twum Ampofo, Robert Ampomah, Papa Kofi Amissah-Reynolds, Samuel Ebo Owusu, Michael Opoku-Manu. The Upsurge of COVID-19 Cases Amidst the Reopening of Schools in Ghana: The Role of Teachers as Frontline Workers. Int J Second Educ. 2020;8(3):96-102. doi: 10.11648/j.ijsedu.20200803.13

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@article{10.11648/j.ijsedu.20200803.13,
  author = {Eric Twum Ampofo and Robert Ampomah and Papa Kofi Amissah-Reynolds and Samuel Ebo Owusu and Michael Opoku-Manu},
  title = {The Upsurge of COVID-19 Cases Amidst the Reopening of Schools in Ghana: The Role of Teachers as Frontline Workers},
  journal = {International Journal of Secondary Education},
  volume = {8},
  number = {3},
  pages = {96-102},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijsedu.20200803.13},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijsedu.20200803.13},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijsedu.20200803.13},
  abstract = {The novel coronavirus disease is a global pandemic and gradually teachers are beginning to find themselves on the frontline of educational delivery as lots of countries, including Ghana, ease up restrictions and reopen schools. The main aim of this article was to present evidence to validate teachers’ role as frontline workers amid rising cases of COVID-19. Also, we looked at the measures the government put in place prior to the reopening vis-a-vis their adequacy. Again, we examined reasons for the emerging increase in cases of COVID-19 infections among teachers and strategies to overcome this problem. So far, available evidence suggest that about 24% of teachers are being increasingly infected with the novel disease. Major factors accounting for COVID-19 infections among teachers include inadequate preparation before reopening of schools, a lack of understanding of the epidemiology of the disease, unavailability of PPEs, and psychological stress. We, therefore recommend that protection of students, teachers and non-teaching staff should be of topmost priority of the government through the education and training, provision of appropriate incentives, provision of PPEs and the requisite psychological support.},
 year = {2020}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - The Upsurge of COVID-19 Cases Amidst the Reopening of Schools in Ghana: The Role of Teachers as Frontline Workers
AU  - Eric Twum Ampofo
AU  - Robert Ampomah
AU  - Papa Kofi Amissah-Reynolds
AU  - Samuel Ebo Owusu
AU  - Michael Opoku-Manu
Y1  - 2020/08/25
PY  - 2020
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijsedu.20200803.13
DO  - 10.11648/j.ijsedu.20200803.13
T2  - International Journal of Secondary Education
JF  - International Journal of Secondary Education
JO  - International Journal of Secondary Education
SP  - 96
EP  - 102
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2376-7472
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijsedu.20200803.13
AB  - The novel coronavirus disease is a global pandemic and gradually teachers are beginning to find themselves on the frontline of educational delivery as lots of countries, including Ghana, ease up restrictions and reopen schools. The main aim of this article was to present evidence to validate teachers’ role as frontline workers amid rising cases of COVID-19. Also, we looked at the measures the government put in place prior to the reopening vis-a-vis their adequacy. Again, we examined reasons for the emerging increase in cases of COVID-19 infections among teachers and strategies to overcome this problem. So far, available evidence suggest that about 24% of teachers are being increasingly infected with the novel disease. Major factors accounting for COVID-19 infections among teachers include inadequate preparation before reopening of schools, a lack of understanding of the epidemiology of the disease, unavailability of PPEs, and psychological stress. We, therefore recommend that protection of students, teachers and non-teaching staff should be of topmost priority of the government through the education and training, provision of appropriate incentives, provision of PPEs and the requisite psychological support.
VL  - 8
IS  - 3
ER  -

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Author Information

Eric Twum Ampofo

Department of Educational Studies, University of Education, Winneba, Ghana
Robert Ampomah

Department of Interdisciplinary Studies, University of Education, Winneba, Ghana
Papa Kofi Amissah-Reynolds

Department of Science Education, University of Education, Winneba, Ghana
Samuel Ebo Owusu

Department of Crop and Soil Sciences Education, University of Education, Winneba, Ghana
Michael Opoku-Manu

Department of Social Science, Catholic University College, Sunyani, Ghana

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Plain Text BibTeX RIS

APA Style

Eric Twum Ampofo, Robert Ampomah, Papa Kofi Amissah-Reynolds, Samuel Ebo Owusu, Michael Opoku-Manu. (2020). The Upsurge of COVID-19 Cases Amidst the Reopening of Schools in Ghana: The Role of Teachers as Frontline Workers. International Journal of Secondary Education, 8(3), 96-102. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijsedu.20200803.13

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ACS Style

Eric Twum Ampofo; Robert Ampomah; Papa Kofi Amissah-Reynolds; Samuel Ebo Owusu; Michael Opoku-Manu. The Upsurge of COVID-19 Cases Amidst the Reopening of Schools in Ghana: The Role of Teachers as Frontline Workers. Int. J. Second. Educ. 2020, 8(3), 96-102. doi: 10.11648/j.ijsedu.20200803.13

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AMA Style

Eric Twum Ampofo, Robert Ampomah, Papa Kofi Amissah-Reynolds, Samuel Ebo Owusu, Michael Opoku-Manu. The Upsurge of COVID-19 Cases Amidst the Reopening of Schools in Ghana: The Role of Teachers as Frontline Workers. Int J Second Educ. 2020;8(3):96-102. doi: 10.11648/j.ijsedu.20200803.13

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@article{10.11648/j.ijsedu.20200803.13,
  author = {Eric Twum Ampofo and Robert Ampomah and Papa Kofi Amissah-Reynolds and Samuel Ebo Owusu and Michael Opoku-Manu},
  title = {The Upsurge of COVID-19 Cases Amidst the Reopening of Schools in Ghana: The Role of Teachers as Frontline Workers},
  journal = {International Journal of Secondary Education},
  volume = {8},
  number = {3},
  pages = {96-102},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijsedu.20200803.13},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijsedu.20200803.13},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijsedu.20200803.13},
  abstract = {The novel coronavirus disease is a global pandemic and gradually teachers are beginning to find themselves on the frontline of educational delivery as lots of countries, including Ghana, ease up restrictions and reopen schools. The main aim of this article was to present evidence to validate teachers’ role as frontline workers amid rising cases of COVID-19. Also, we looked at the measures the government put in place prior to the reopening vis-a-vis their adequacy. Again, we examined reasons for the emerging increase in cases of COVID-19 infections among teachers and strategies to overcome this problem. So far, available evidence suggest that about 24% of teachers are being increasingly infected with the novel disease. Major factors accounting for COVID-19 infections among teachers include inadequate preparation before reopening of schools, a lack of understanding of the epidemiology of the disease, unavailability of PPEs, and psychological stress. We, therefore recommend that protection of students, teachers and non-teaching staff should be of topmost priority of the government through the education and training, provision of appropriate incentives, provision of PPEs and the requisite psychological support.},
 year = {2020}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - The Upsurge of COVID-19 Cases Amidst the Reopening of Schools in Ghana: The Role of Teachers as Frontline Workers
AU  - Eric Twum Ampofo
AU  - Robert Ampomah
AU  - Papa Kofi Amissah-Reynolds
AU  - Samuel Ebo Owusu
AU  - Michael Opoku-Manu
Y1  - 2020/08/25
PY  - 2020
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijsedu.20200803.13
DO  - 10.11648/j.ijsedu.20200803.13
T2  - International Journal of Secondary Education
JF  - International Journal of Secondary Education
JO  - International Journal of Secondary Education
SP  - 96
EP  - 102
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2376-7472
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijsedu.20200803.13
AB  - The novel coronavirus disease is a global pandemic and gradually teachers are beginning to find themselves on the frontline of educational delivery as lots of countries, including Ghana, ease up restrictions and reopen schools. The main aim of this article was to present evidence to validate teachers’ role as frontline workers amid rising cases of COVID-19. Also, we looked at the measures the government put in place prior to the reopening vis-a-vis their adequacy. Again, we examined reasons for the emerging increase in cases of COVID-19 infections among teachers and strategies to overcome this problem. So far, available evidence suggest that about 24% of teachers are being increasingly infected with the novel disease. Major factors accounting for COVID-19 infections among teachers include inadequate preparation before reopening of schools, a lack of understanding of the epidemiology of the disease, unavailability of PPEs, and psychological stress. We, therefore recommend that protection of students, teachers and non-teaching staff should be of topmost priority of the government through the education and training, provision of appropriate incentives, provision of PPEs and the requisite psychological support.
VL  - 8
IS  - 3
ER  -

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