GNACOPS executives hold crunch meeting, distribute PPE to private schools

The National leadership and Regional coordinators of Ghana National Council Of Private Schools( GNACOPS) on Friday, January 5th held an emergency meeting to discuss the feedback from private schools across the country on Schools reopen and COVID-19 compliance in schools.

The meeting was held at the council's secretariat at the Atomic Energy Commission in the Greater Accra Region.

Mr. Samuel Nyamekye, National communication Director of Gnacops in a press statement highlighted some of the issues discussed at the meeting.

Below is the full press statement:

Yesterday- on Friday, 5th January 2021 the National leadership and Regional coordinators of Ghana National Council of Private Schools held a crucial meeting to receive and discuss all feedback from private schools on school reopen and COVID-19 compliance in schools, at the Council's Secretariat- Atomic Energy commission in the Greater Accra region.

At the meeting, the National Executive Director of the Council, Mr Enoch Kwasi Gyetuah

said that, as part of the Council's mandate to ensure that member schools are sustained and also adhered to all measures put in place by the government and responsible agencies to fight the spread of the COVID 19, it has become necessary for the Council to support the course and ensure that every single member is strictly adhering to the preventive protocols in their schools.

He said the recent spike of infected numbers should tell us that the virus is leaving with us and we need to put in place pragmatic measures to curtail it's spread.

According to him, the Council holds in high esteem the lives of children and agreeing on that as duty bearers, there must be aptly discharged of duties without any room for complaining - let us procure and distribute these PPEs and also ensure that students wear them- the director said.

He, therefore, encouraged the Regional Coordinators to expedite actionable education tour on the four revolutionary Changes (Practice of Corporate Governance, focusing on Technological Structures in delivery education, adopting career and practical Contents and having a sense of belonging to the Council) that the Council has come out with as pillars and anchors to help keep private schools in sustenance.

He mentioned that the contributions that the private schools offer to the nation's educational delivery are enviable and very commendable and that if these schools are not supported by government and other organisations, there will be the likelihood that most Ghanaian children of school-going age will be denied access to formal education.

Government alone cannot take responsibility for these duties alone there is the need to call for the government's attention to support private schools and continue to complement the efforts of the government for mutual benefits.

Mr Gyetuah disclosed that, through the support of the Ministry of Education, the Council has been able to train 200 Master Trainers to further train all private school teachers in the country, he added that the training has started in some regions and will soon reach out to all the other regions in the country.

The spokesperson of the Regional Coordinators, Pastor Nelson Aho who spoke on behalf of the all the Coordinators presented school reopen feedback report to the Council and assured the leaders that, the supply of government's PPEs to the schools and the directives given by the council will be enforced in all private schools.

He revealed that there are few areas where some schools have complained that officers in charge of the distribution of these PPEs are using it as a mechanism to extort monies from some private schools.

He cited an example in Bono East Region precisely the Atebubu-Amanten District Education office, where such an unapproved incident is happening, where one office who claims to be a private School coordinator is currently demanding a GES registration fee of Gh200.00 as a clearance to the supply of the PPEs provided by the government.

He added that some children in some low fee-paying schools who have not been able to meet this clearance of self impose private schools coordinator have been denied their rights and privileges.

He, therefore, pleaded with the leaders of the Council to see to it that authorities' attention is brought to this situation.

The National Board Chairman of the Council, Mr. Steve Revss gave some directives to the Council secretariat to write and report to all relevant bodies for an immediate investigation to be taken on the incident of the Atebubu-Amanten PPEs extortion Scandal.

He, therefore, said that the Council will continue to engage the government to seek support for the private schools.

All Coordinators were given "my first day at school" packages from the Ministry of Education to be given to member schools.