New bill on education soon - Minister

Accra (Greater Accra), 23rd April  

Mr Ekwow Spio-Garbrah, Minister of Education, on Thursday said that an education regulatory bill is to be placed before parliament. The bill will among other things ensure that private schools operate under the rules of the Ministry, Mr Spio-Garbrah said during a meeting with executives of the Ghana National Association of Private Schools (GNAPS) to discuss problems facing them.

Problems discussed included the exclusion of private Senior Secondary Schools on the selection cards of students sitting the Basic Education Certificate Examination.

Other issues were the refusal of some private schools to charge fees approved by the Ghana Education Service and the exclusion of GNAPS in the decision making process with regards to the education reform programme.

Mr Spio-Garbrah commended private schools for complementing government effort and said the ministry will study their problems for solutions but advised the members to operate in a way that will attract investors into the educational sector.

Mr Philip Perry Pearce-Pearson, president of GNAPS noted that private schools are under the supervision of GES and advised the ones flouting the regulations of the service to stop.

He called for the early passing of the education regulatory bill to help ensure sanity in the sector.

There are 2000 private schools in the country. Two thirds of them are basic and the remaining in the second cycle level.