Basic School headmistress under investigation for charging GH¢1,000 admission fees

The Sunyani Municipal Education Directorate of the Ghana Education Service says it has placed under investigation the headmistress of Nyamaa Basic School for allegedly charging GH¢1,000 as admission fees from students.

According to a report by Dailyguidenetwork.com, the Sunyani Municipal Director of Education, Mark Godfred Domah, has confirmed the development.

According to Mr Domah, a report on the headmistress has been forwarded to the headquarters on the direction of the Ghana Education Service, while a three-member committee has been instituted to investigate the matter.

The members of the committee include the Public Relations Officer of the directorate, the Community Participation Director and the Basic Education Director of the Directorate.

The terms of reference of the committee include to establish and confirm otherwise of the allegation, to establish to what extent the practice has been going on at the Nyamaa Basic School and other basic schools in the municipality, and how many schools are involved in the practice and range of money charged from the students or parents.

The committee is also mandated to establish other relevant information that will help stop the canker going forward as well as make recommendations.

The municipal director noted that the directorate has in the interim met with the various school heads in the municipality including, regional unit heads, Catholic, Anglican, Methodist, Islamic, SDA among others to advise them to strictly follow laid down regulations of the Ghana Education Service (GES) and the Ministry of Education as enshrined in policy document and code of ethics.

Participants of the meeting also included representatives from the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), the Municipal Chief Executive of Sunyani and a representative from the regional directorate of the GES.

“We are really on our guard. I always advise the heads that under no circumstances should they attempt to run public schools like a private school. We are implementors of national approved policy and anything beyond that is unacceptable and retards progress,” he cautioned.

Mr Domah further noted that there had already been some allegations of heads selling textbooks.

He emphasised that his outfit has started an investigation to establish whether the allegations were true, and to take appropriate action.

“We have code of conduct and we are going to follow due process and apply appropriate sanctions if the allegation is found out to be true. The MCE is mad about it. Nobody is happy about it,” he said.

Meanwhile, the three-member committee is expected to submit its report including recommendations within the week for further action.

The Constitution of Ghana under what is known as the Free, Compulsory Universal Basic Education (FCUBE) policy mandates the government to provide basic education at no cost.

Despite its inception in 1995, the policy was implemented in 2005 under the administration of former President John Agyekum Kufour.

The policy, among other things, is aimed at expanding and promoting quality basic education.

GA/BOG