Directive to headteachers not to charge extra from parents doesn't make any sense - Kwesi Pratt

The Managing Editor of the Insight Newspaper, Kwesi Pratt Jnr, has questioned the sense in the GES' directive to headmasters/mistresses not to charge extra fees from parents.

According to him, the directive of the Ghana Education Service (GES) does not make sense because the senior high schools in Ghana are not equally advantaged to give such a blanket directive.

This comes after eleven headteachers from various senior high schools across the country were suspended by the GES for allegedly asking parents to pay extra for items that their wards would need.

This action by the GES has been widely criticised by experts in the education sector.

Speaking on Metro TV on Wednesday, December 13, 2023, Kwesi Pratt Jnr stated that the directive by the GES to headteachers not to charge extra from parents to meet certain needs of the students is baseless.

The host of the programme, Dr Randy Abbey, began by explaining that the headteachers of the senior high schools were engaged by the GES on a uniformed prospectus and then directed that they do not charge anything extra before they admit any student.

“The authorities say that before the term started, they engaged them on the uniformed prospectus and they told them that these are the approved things and so, you cannot ask any parent to pay for anything outside this approved list. Now, if they are asking for parents to pay for something that the government is supposed to provide and it hasn't provided it is a problem. But I am saying that, that was the policy and that was what they were told.

“So, if you are a headmaster, you cannot be asking a parent to pay for something which was authorised by the GES before the parent’s ward can enter the school,” the host, Dr. Abbey stated.

In response, Kwesi Pratt Jnr challenged the logic behind the GES decision, arguing that it fails to account for the varying levels of endowment among different schools.

“I can understand where you are coming from but it doesn't make sense. This is because the schools are not equally endowed. If all the schools have the same endowment, then you can make these generalisations. What is needed in one school is different from what is needed in the other school because of the difference in level of endowment. That is the argument,” he stated.

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