Assembly orders probe into collection of fees

Agona Swedru (Central Region), 3 Mar. '99 -

Agona Swedru (Central Region), 3 Mar. '99 - The Agona district assembly is to establish a committee to probe into the alleged illegal collection of school fees by headteachers. Mr Samuel Adu-Yeboah, district chief executive, announced this when Mr S.K. Tenkorang, Agona district director of education, was summoned to brief assembly members on the state of education in the district. According to the DCE, some headteachers collected nine thousand cedis as school fees instead of the approved four thousand cedis which Mr Tenkorang said was unauthorised. The director stressed that since some PTAs and school management committees are not aware of the illegal collection, such fees cannot be accounted for. He said that the Regional co-ordinating council's "send your child to school programme," launched last year yielded positive result. The district director said a team from the district directorate of education is to evaluate the programme to promote teaching and learning in schools. Nana Odiako Bonsu, presiding member of the assembly, urged headteachers to use the limited resources at their disposal judiciously to achieve results and not to exploit parents and guardians. He appealed to assembly members to monitor the activities of the teachers in their communities to help raise the falling standard of education in the district.