Wednesday not holiday for school children

Accra, March 27, GNA - The Ministry of Education and Sports on Monday said Wednesday, March 29, the day of the eclipse of the sun, would not be declared a public holiday, as the event would last for only three minutes.

Mr Ato Esuman, Chief Director of the Ministry, who spoke in an interview with the Ghana News Agency, urged parents to ensure that their children left the house for school earlier than the normal days, so that teachers would monitor them.

He also said various directives had been sent to all schools to ensure that all school children were kept indoors and that only those with the special solar eclipse sunshades were allowed outside to watch the event.

Mr Esuman stated that Ghana had learnt from past cases in East Africa where there was chaos due to the sudden darkness resulting in various accidents and advised people who would be travelling on that day to be careful.

On the prices of the special solar eclipse sunshades, he said letters were sent to various corporate entities for support and assistance so that they would be distributed free or at subsidised prices for school children, but none of them responded positively. He appealed to parents to consider the social and health implications should their children be affected by watching the eclipse with their eyes unprotected and to provide them with the needed protection.