Parents angry as schools demand monies despite Free SHS

Some Senior High Schools in the Eastern Region are reportedly exploring other ways of collecting monies from guardians and parents after they were barred from doing so under the free SHS.

School managers have been barred from taking fees as government pays for the education of students. Already some school heads have been interdicted for breaching a directive against the charging of such fees. But this has not stopped the practice.

The Suhum Senior High Technical School, for instance, has printed envelopes for distribution to guardians to solicit funds for the purchase of plastic chairs for the school’s assembly hall. A parent who wants to remain anonymous shared his frustrations.

“ If Government said everything is free why are the school officials using other means in taking money from parents, today they ask you to pay for this,the next day you are asked to pay for another, this is not fair to us parents because we were made to understand that the free SHS covers everything and we are not supposed to pay for a dime when we take our wards to school,” the frustrated parent narrated.

Government in September dismissed head teachers of two secondary schools in the country over extortion under the free SHS policy.

The sacked headmasters were Wisdom Blazu of the Pentecost SHS in the Eastern region and Assistant headmaster of Daffour Senior High School Rev S.P Eleworkor.

They were relieved from their post in a statement issued by the Ghana Education Service.