Institutions stick to online academic programmes
Some tertiary institutions whose final-year students were scheduled to return to school on June 15, 2020 to write their examinations have indicated that they are sticking to their online academic programmes, including the writing of examinations.
Students of those institutions are also to use the platform to submit their assignments and project work for assessment.
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All universities, junior high schools (JHSs) and senior high schools (SHSs), including public and private ones, were ordered by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to close down on Monday, March 16, 2020 till further notice, following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic in the country.
However, in his 10th address to the nation on the COVID-19 situation in the country on May 31, 2020, the President said schools and universities were to reopen, beginning June 15, 2020, to allow for final-year JHS, SHS and university students to resume classes ahead of the conduct of their respective exit examinations.
Furthermore, all final-year students of educational and training institutions which were being managed by ministries other than the Education Ministry were also to return to school on June 15, 2020 to complete their exit examinations.
However, some of the universities have decided to continue with their academic programmes online, instead of allowing their students to report to campus.
Examinations
Yesterday (Monday, June 8, 2020), the University of Ghana, Legon, the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA) and the Ghana Institute of Journalism (GIJ) began online examinations for all students.
Students of the University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA) and the Ashesi University, also in Accra, have already conducted online examinations for their students.
UG, Legon
The Pro-Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ghana, Professor Nana Aba Appiah Amfo, said the university’s ongoing online teaching and learning programme for the second semester of the 2019/2020 academic year would progress as planned.
“Therefore, examinations for all students, including final-year students, scheduled to commence from June 8, 2020 to July 3, 2020 will proceed as originally planned.
“Also, arrangements are being made to receive registered final-year students who may wish to relocate to the campuses of the university to make use of on-campus resources from June 15, 2020 to July 3, 2020, which is the end of the examination period.
“All final-year students who were unable to participate in the online teaching and learning programme are expected back on campus from June 15, 2020. Make-up lessons will be from June 22 to July 10, 2020. Final examinations will be from July 18 to August 1, 2020,” she said.
Prof. Amfo also said final-year sandwich students would be allowed back on campus to complete their final semester examination from June 15, 2020.
Meanwhile, the university remains closed to all other students.
UPSA
The Pro-Vice-Chancellor of the UPSA, Prof. Charles Barnor, said final-year students had their non-conventional examinations online, referred to as Take Home Examination (THE) for all students.
However, final-year students who could not participate in that examination online would be required to report to school on June 15, 2020 to complete the second semester course, he said.
“We are on schedule to complete the academic year by July. However, we realised that a number of students, particularly final-year students, were unable to participate in THE due to varied reasons,” he added.
GIMPA
The President of the Students Representative Council (SRC) of GIMPA, Mr Benjamin Ansah, said the programme agreed on by the school to end the academic year was being followed through.
“For now, we are all taking the online examinations as had been agreed on,” he said.
KNUST
In a release signed by its Deputy Registrar of Academic Affairs, Mrs Margaret Dzisi, the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) said before the road map was announced by the President, the university had already come up with its own programme.
It said the university decided against conducting online examinations; rather, students would be assessed by assignments and project works assigned them, which were 80 per cent complete.
All students, both continuing and those in their final-year, had up to June 30, 2020 to submit all assignments and project work online for examiners to process for the consideration of department, faculty and college boards, latest by July 15, 2020, the statement said.
It further said while all students were not required to be on campus when schools reopened, “students who have difficulty in accessing the online facilities at home have the option to relocate to campus from June 15 to 30, having made arrangements with their Heads of Departments”.
All sixth-year Clinical students of the School of Medicine, Dentistry, Veterinary Medicine and Pharm D, as well as final-year Midwifery and Medical Diagnostics students of the university, were required to report to school on June 15, 2020 to go through their clinicals and abridged examinations to enable them to complete their respective courses, it said.
The statement also said the university was making arrangements to allow international students in fifth and sixth years in the schools of Medicine and Dentistry and sixth year in Veterinary Medicine, Pharm D, as well as final-year Midwifery and Medical Diagnostics, to also return for their clinicals and practicals when school resumed on June 15, 2020.
However, those who would not be able to return due to travel restrictions would have their examinations postponed until an appropriate time, it said.
