Centre Béninois des Langue Etrangères (CEBELAE) is a language school in University of Abomey – CALAVI, located in Cotonou in Benin. Since its a establishment in 1979 with the aim of enabling interested internationals to improve both in the ability to communicate and in the linguistic competence in different international languages, CEBELAE receives and trains many international students from almost all African countries and the world at large, Ghana is not an exception.
Out of a fully funded scholarship by the government of Ghana, three highly reputable institutions here in Ghana, namely ; Kwame Nkrumah Science and Technology, University of Ghana and Ghana institute of Languages annually send their Third and fourth year French students respectively to go and ameliorate on their already laid foundations in the French language. This year 2020, is not an exception. This year saw an approximate number of 143 students in all from Ghana who went there on a year abroad programme.
Are you aware of this and have you thought of them on how they are also coping amidst this Coronavirus pandemic?
As a student with the Ghanaian International students at heart, I decided to probe to know the condition of these students.
Anyway, the good news is that, they are in a very good condition and in safe hands. Benin which has 37 cases of COVID-19 with an encouraging number of recoveries saw the government suspends schools and all public activities in early April.
Immediately after that, the Ghanaian embassy there provided this students with some personal protective equipments (PPEs) like hand gloves, hands sanitizers, face masks etc to protect them from contracting this ugly disease.
Speaking to Gladys Boateng a fourth year student of French of University of Ghana currently studying in Benin, she said “We are very safe here and we will love to remain here still the pandemic is over since the cases here is just minimal compared to some other countries and our mother land Ghana. My only worry is that we started our programme here in last year September and we are supposed to finish in coming May. I do not know whether we will be made to finish our studies abruptly or continue with it after the pandemic. This is because we have not been enrolled on any E-LEARNING as our colleagues in Ghana. “
Their school and all other institutions in Benin are slated to resume on 11th May, 2020 nonetheless, the date is subjected to the condition of the pandemic.
By
EMMANUEL BARTELS ANKRAH
HON. BARTELS
A student of University of Cape Coast
