Free SHS: I agree CHASS must handle feeding of students – Mahama

Former President John Dramani Mahama has said he perfectly agrees with the leadership of the Conference of Heads of Assisted Secondary Schools (CHASS) regarding the authorisation for Senior High School administrators to independently procure their food supplies for their students as part of the implementation of the Free Senior High School programme.

According to the former president, this policy adjustment resonates with the position he had articulated during a statement he delivered in Navrongo in November 2020.

The former president concurred with the leadership of CHASS in a Facebook post on October 12, 2023.

He added that this modification is expected to remove unwarranted obstacles that have been impeding the provision of meals for SHS students in Ghana.

The Conference of Heads of Assisted Secondary Schools (CHASS) has called on the government to allow schools to purchase their own food items to feed students.

The National President of the CHASS, Rev. Stephen Owusu Sekyere, who made the call at the 61st annual conference of the Association in Accra also demanded a significant increase in money allocated for all activities to meet the current increase in prices of goods and services.

“We are of the firm belief that procuring the food items by ourselves from our traditional suppliers will help to solve the acute shortages of food items in our schools,” he added.

CHASS conference

The annual gathering of CHASS was basically to bring together educational leaders across the nation for a common purpose to share ideas on best practices as school leaders, hoping to achieve excellence in the delivery of education at the senior high school (SHS) level.

Rev. Sekyere said, “We have a firm belief that procuring the food items by ourselves from our traditional suppliers will help deal with the shortages of food and reduce the logistical and operational challenges that come with it.”

He said the schools were not financially resourced enough to enable it to carry out very important recurring activities.

As a result, Rev. Sekyere noted that routine maintenance works such as plumbing, carpentry, masonry, electrical works, painting, and servicing of some equipment in offices had become very difficult to undertake.

He also expressed grave concern over delays in the supply of school uniforms to newly admitted students, which, he said, paved way for truancy.

The national President further said conduct of internal examinations had also become difficult and, therefore, requested that money for such examinations must be increased.

“Subsequent release for the conduct of practicals must meet the cost. Management must also ensure the timely release of the entire funding of schools to make the work less stressful,” he stressed.

Indiscipline

As a human institution managing the largest human resource in the country, Rev. Sekyere said the CHASS could not pretend that all was well with the profession as leaders of SHS in the country.

Rev. Sekyere expressed concern about the increasing rate of indiscipline and misconduct that had bedeviled most senior high schools, saying some of these misconducts such as hooliganism, bullying, occultism, and drug abuse had their roots in the homes and communities of the culprits.

While acknowledging the recently approved code of conduct for SHS, Rev. Sekyere asked that CHASS be given some discretionary powers at the level of the board of governors to handle more serious issues to fast-track justice delivery in schools.

He, therefore, called on all stakeholders in education to support the schools to help mould the young ones for a brighter future.

Touching on the free SHS policy, he said, “Our roles, as heads of SHS in the country, are very critical in shaping the future of our students, our country, and the world.”

To that end, he said, every contribution and suggestion must be welcomed for the purposes of shaping the free SHS policy.

“The free SHS is a very good initiative that has served as a springboard for the less-privileged in the country to have access to secondary education.

“CHASS recognized the commitment of the government to restore senior high technical schools and also the unwavering effort of the government to sustain the Free SHS policy,” he said.

He mentioned the provision of classrooms, dormitory infrastructure, furniture, and vehicles as some of the additional incentives to boost the sector.