About 3,967out of 4,458 children surveyed across the country have said the distance learning platforms provided as a result of the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has not been effective, a research conducted by the Child Right International has revealed. The research also said the digital platforms on education only reached five percent children in Bono, Ahafo, Ashanti, Western, and Eastern regions, while television and radio coverage reached 32 percent of children surveyed.
These were contained in a research conducted by the Child Rights International (CRI), between March 11, 2020, and November 9, 2020, known as the “COVID-19 State of the Children in Ghana” and was launched yesterday in Accra. The survey was conducted in 589 communities, towns and cities with a sample size of4,458 children and additional information from the nationwide data on COVID-19 provided by the Ghana Health Service.
Also, the survey said more than 70 percent of children claimed that they had no support or encouragement from their parents regarding their studies, while 28 percent of the children surveyed said performing excessive activities for their parents affected their learning during their stay at home. The survey again said that the rate of COVID-19 among children in the country was low indicating out of the 49,202 cases of the virus recorded from March 11 to November 9 this year, only 2,180 children who were below 18 years contracted the disease.