Writing Exams In The Heat Of The Covid-19 Pandemic

When I sat for my final exams in secondary school, I panicked a lot, thinking if I was ready enough to pass my exams. I had studied for months without interruptions, my family visited me during visiting hours, and I could study freely with my classmates without fear of getting sick.

This year, things are different. When my little brother heard that he had to get back to school to take his final exams, he was devastated; as a family, we were also worried. We were not only worried about the surge in the covid-19 cases in the country but the possibility of him getting into contact with a classmate who could put him at risk of contracting this deadly virus. We worried about how he could stay in school without us having the opportunity to visit him at school because of new precautions to protect him. Also, we were disturbed about the fact that he spent a long time at home during the first lockdown and the impact that would have on his performance.

We are not the only ones in this situation, think of the numerous families all over the country who have to let go of their children in these tough times to write an exam that could determine the path that they might want to take in life. Besides, most final year students in universities across Ghana have also been called to their schools to write their final exams. This decision, I believe, has not been easy for policymakers and stakeholders. Let us consider some risks involved; the psychological burden of students preparing for exams in fear, the possibility of students and teachers being afraid to help students in need of medical attention due to fear of contracting the virus themselves and the fear of these students studying in groups and exposing themselves to a possible outbreak.

Let us consider the washrooms, dormitories, classrooms, libraries, science laboratories that these students share, and the possibility of not practicing social distancing or wearing a face mask at all times. According to some guardians, the mental burden on students and the possibility of fear gripping them as isolated cases of the covid-19 virus looms in some schools is frightening.

Let us weigh the cost of these children camped in school to write their final exams under these unfavorable conditions as opposed to staying home and limiting the spread of this deadly virus. Let us review the directive on school children sent back to school to take their final exams, the possibility of an outbreak, and the grief that might grip the nation if there is no adherence to extreme precautions.