Education Service to register all schools - Prof. Ekumfi- Ameyaw

Accra (Greater Accra), 16 Feb. '99 -

The Ghana Education Service (GES) is to conduct a nation-wide exercise to register all existing schools, Prof. Christopher Ekumfi-Ameyaw, GES Director-General, said in Accra yesterday.

The exercise, to begin after the modalities have been worked out with the national executive of the Ghana National Association of Private Schools (GNAPS), is to check schools whose registration certificates have expired and those who have not registered with the GES. Prof. Ekumfi-Ameyaw announced this at the launching of this year's celebrations of the Greater Accra GNAPS Week under the theme "Delivery of quality education in private schools - A challenge". He noted that some private school teachers work under deplorable situations and "yet GNAPS want more teachers seconded to these schools. Such schools deprive the unfortunate children ... of their hidden talents", he stressed. He noted with concern the charging of exorbitant fees by some private schools and urged the Association to help the GES to enforce the payment of fees approved by the Ministry of Education.

Prof. Ekumfi-Ameyaw stressed the need for discipline among students and announced that a GES task force will be sent to basic schools to check drug abuse and other negative habits. Mr Prince Kwame Katu, Regional Chairman of GNAPS, said any student who passes the university entrance examination in a particular year but fails to gain admission should be admitted the following year without having to re-write the examination. "It puts a heavy financial burden on parents and also has negative psychological effects on the candidate if he has to re-write the entrance examination." He pleaded with parliament to expedite action on the draft Schools Education Regulations Bill (1998) in order to strengthen the supervisory bodies in education, especially the GES and GNAPS.