Public school heads issued final warning over unapproved fees

The Ghana Education Service (GES) has warned that it cannot guarantee the continuous stay in office of heads of public schools who flout the guidelines for the collection of school fees and levies.

Therefore, for the last time, the GES has asked all heads of public second cycle schools across the country to correct any irregularity or illegality they might have committed already, in their attempt to generate revenue especially the cost buildup of students bills before they are found out to face the full rigours of the law.

The Acting Deputy Director General of the GES, Mrs Elizabeth Dessousa sounded the warning at a day’s seminar in Kumasi on Guidelines for School Fees and Levies for some management members of second cycle schools.

The participants, who were from the Ashanti and Brong Ahafo regions constituting the Kumasi Zone, were made up of Headmasters, Accountants, Internal Auditors in addition to Metropolitan, Municipal and District Directors of Education.

The Acting Deputy Director-General of the GES emphasized that access to basic and secondary education is a right for every Ghanaian child.

For this reason, school managers should not do anything that could suggest that second cycle education in the country is being sold in favour of the highest bidder.

Mrs Dessousa admitted the challenges school heads go through in collecting particularly school fees especially those with students in the final years.

This should however not be the excuse for any school authority to charge unapproved fees, adding that hence forth, schools have been barred from coming out with Supplementary Bills, while the demand for school fees for ensuing terms should cease or the offenders must be prepared to face the consequences thereof.

The Chief Internal Auditor of the GES, Bismark Akandi, said the Guideline for School Fees and Levies clearly spell out the financial responsibilities of both the government on one hand, and guardians on the other, and that guardians can negotiate with school authorities to pay their wards’ school fees in installment.

Mr Akandi also stressed the warning to school heads not to use the cost of education to discriminate between the rich and poor.