Making students suffer because of PTA dues illegal – Ashanti Regional PTA Coordinator

The Ashanti Regional Coordinator of the Parents and Teachers Association (P.T.A), Mr. Samuel Afriyie, has bemoaned the practice where some P.T.A meetings have been turned into a money contribution association.

He stated that, P.T.A. meetings are not an association but a relationship between the parents and the school management in the community. He also warned that the meeting is apolitical as well as a non-religious organisation.

Mr. Afriyie continued that, the situation where students are made to suffer because of PTA dues is illegal and must be a thing of the past; and has called on the schools to eschew such practices.

Addressing the Ahafo Ano North Municipal PTA meeting in Tepa in Ashanti Region on the theme “Educational Reforms in Ghana and the significant impact on the Ghanaian child”, Mr. Afiryie mentioned that the PTA has now been made part of the educational system.

He reiterated that under this arrangement, government likewise parents have roles to play. Among the roles parents can play, he said, is for them to be interested in the activities of the school by ensuring that there is a healthy learning atmosphere.

He again emphasised that the promotion of a good and healthy learning atmosphere is a shared responsibility and should not be left in the hands of school management only but must involve all stakeholders.

Speaking on the above theme, the Ahafo Ano North Municipal Director of Education Mrs. Grace Oppong Agyapong stated that, all educational reforms like the current one were made to better the educational system.

Recounting the various reforms that the educational sector has gone through since independence, Mrs. Agyapong stated that the new educational reforms have made formal education accessible to all Ghanaians of school-going age irrespective of gender, political, cultural or socioeconomic background of the child.

She mentioned that, under the new reforms, Senior High School Placement Examination has come to replace the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) organized by the West Africa Examination Council (WAEC).

The Education Director maintained that; the new reforms recognize the basic school from Primary School to Senior High School (SHS). At SHS form 1 (B10), all the students would take common core courses. At form 2 (B11), students would have the option to select their electives. It has made provision for some core competencies such as Critical Thinking and Problem Solving, Communication and Collaboration, Creativity and Innovation and Cultural Identity.

Mrs. Agyapong stated again that graduates from SHS will be awarded a diploma certificate instead of the current West Africa Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination (WASSCE).

Also, the Director stated that the new reforms have given priority to Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).

Ending her speech, the Ahafo Ano North Municipal Director of Education urged the communities to own the school and assume the responsibility of supporting the Ghanaian child to succeed in life.

In a speech read on behalf of the Municipal Chief Executive Martina Appiah Nyantakyi by the Director of Social Welfare and Community Development Mr. Jerry Hagan stressed on government's commitment to ensuring that every school-going age Ghanaian child gets access to quality education.

The MCE mentioned that the government has done that through the introduction of the Free SHS policy and the decentralisation of the scholarship scheme. She stated these interventions by the government have impacted positively on the Ghanaian Child.

The aim of the new educational reforms, Ms Appiah said, is geared towards problem-solving with its long-term effect of providing labour for industry. Another goal of the reforms she stated is to also equip the children for the future.

The day's meeting saw PTA chairmen from all the public schools in the Municipality attending. In an open forum, contributors expressed happiness about the new reform and thanked the government for it.