‘We don’t give receipts here’ — Benkum SHS after charging SHS freshers ‘fees’

The Headmaster and Teachers of Benkum SHS in the Eastern Region of Ghana are rejecting the prospectus of the Ghana Education Service while levying freshers for tracksuit among several other unauthorized charges.

This comes after seven headteachers from Senior High Schools (SHSs) in the Ashanti Region were instructed to step aside amid allegations of collecting unauthorised fees from incoming students.

The latest development in Benkum SHS is not different from reports received from Bishop Herman College where concerned parents whose wards were posted to the schools by the Computerized School Selection and Placement System say they are forced to pay some Levies before being allowed to enroll.

In the case of Bishop Herman, the Levies and charges include PTA, tracksuit, and various dues from GHC935 being the highest to Ghs 50 being the lowest. In total, 9 various levies and charges are being charged by Bishop Herman College but receipts for only 3 items were issued to parents.

In Benkum SHS, a concerned parent told MyNewsGh.com after making payment “If you ask for receipts, the teachers will tell you that here we don’t give receipts.

“They even have the nerves to also say that government prospectus is not considered there. The parents bought east-west for their girls but the school is telling the parents to buy tourist for them. They also make fun of the students who went there with the government prospectus. I think the District Chief Executives have not helped the government at all. They should have planted some parents to feed them with information in order to see if the schools are following the government’s order,” the parent lamented.

Benkum SHS which is located in Larteh Akwapem, according to reports “sells the uniform the check to parents. They sell each of them at gh¢ 100.00 and the food they prepare for the kids is an eye saw. They also demand that parents buy trou-(sic) suite gh¢ 250.00, house jersey GH¢150.00. They also asked the parents to have come (sic) to collect the prospectus the school had prepared and those who went with the government prospectus would be made to bring the things they didn’t bring next term.” The parent lamented.

The GES has warned that headteachers accused of imposing various unapproved fees, including house dues, books, calculators, admission process fees, and charges for printing slips, files, and hymn books may be interdicted.

So far 11 School Heads have been affected by that decision.