Covid-19 and private pre-tertiary educational institutions in Ghana lessons from employers and employees in Accra metropolis.

Abstract

The repercussions of COVID-19 were manifestly seen in every state around the world. Economies were deeply affected in terms of surge in death toll of both skilled and unskilled personnel, and loss of jobs and livelihoods among others. The core of the study was to examine COVID-19 and private pre-tertiary educational institutions in Ghana, especially the lessons from employers and employees in Accra Metropolis. The study adopted the qualitative research approach and used face-to-face interviews to obtain primary data which were analyzed based on themes. The study found that the COVID-19 adversely affected the livelihoods of both employers and employees in pre-tertiary educational institutions. The study also revealed that employers and employees had to endure near fatal means of survival as a result of the economic hardships attributed to the pandemic. As a consequence of the COVID-19, the study found that employers depended on loans, government’s interventions and reserved food and money during the pandemic. The study also revealed that employees and their dependants applied several coping mechanisms, including door-to-door private tuition, engaging in other businesses, resorting to loan facilities and a host of others to cope with the pandemic. The study recommends that government should enforce certain policies to ensure employers abide by contracts they have signed with their employees. Furthermore, the study recommends that government should engage in public education on its policy initiatives and avoid the zero-sum relations in relief packages to the citizenry during crisis.