Government asked to monitor Capitation Grant

Tamale, Dec. 10, GNA - The Northern Network for Education Development (NNED), a civil society organisation, has called on government to check misappropriation of the Capitation Grant by school authorities. The Acting Coordinator for the NNED, Mr. Gaskin Bongnaliere Dassah said a survey conducted by the organisation in 60 schools operating Grant in Northern and Upper West Regions, indicated poor record keepings and inconsistencies making it easy for school authorities to abuse the grant. Mr. Dassah was addressing a day's "Learn and Share Experiences" workshop in Tamale on Thursday, aimed at discussing issues concerning education in the region.

The NNED through sponsorship from the Rights and Voices Initiative (RAVI) has undertaken the tracking of educational resources in five districts in the Northern and Upper West regions. This was under NNED's educational resources advocacy project aimed at contributing to the effective utilization and management of education resources through tracking of the Capitation Grant.

Mr. Dassah said although the Capitation Grant has increased school enrolment, there was no transparency in the use of funds because everything was left to the discretion head teachers who could mismanage the money. He said in the event of transfers of head teachers records got missing making it difficult to check the accounts.

Some of the participants called for the prevention of corruption associated with the implementation of the Capitation Grants.