High bank charges affecting capitation grant.

Saltpond (C/R), Nov. 22, GNA - The commercial banks are charging 1,600,000 cedis per every 100 million cedis cheque withdrawn from the Capitation Grant Account.

Mr Anthony Kobina Obbin, Assistant Director of Education in Charge of Finance and Administration at the Mfantseman District Directorate of Education, announced this when he briefed a meeting of the District Assembly Sub-committee on Education on behalf of the District Education Director, Miss Vivian Etroo at Saltpond.

Mr Obbin said since no provision was made by the management of the grant for overhead cost the high bank charges could cripple the programme and appealed to the Bank of Ghana to do something about it. He said the district was expecting 1,150,590,000 cedis for 176 schools but got 418,650,000 cedis for the first tranch out of which over 6.4 million cedis would go into bank charges.

Mr Obbin told the sub-education committee that 405,662,000 cedis out of the grant received had been paid to 115 schools, which had submitted their School Performance Improvement Plan (SPIP) for vetting and approval.

He said the grant for 61 schools, which had not submitted their SPIP, was being withheld.