Unpaid fees, a major problem for Dormaa SSS

Dormaa-Ahenkro (B/A), July 31, GNA- Management and staff of Dormaa Secondary School in Brong-Ahafo have identified delays and non-payment of fees by parents and guardians is a major problem for the smooth administration of the institution.

Mr. John Akrong, Assistant Headmaster, disclosed at a quarterly meeting of heads of department at Dormaa Ahenkro that as at July this year majority of the 1,486 students of the school owed a total of GH=A2 63,760 (637.6 million cedis), while the immediate past finalists owed GH=A2 10,360 (103.6 million cedis).

The quarterly conference was initiated by Squadron Leader Benjamin Anane Asamoah, Dormaa District Chief Executive, to provide a common platform for heads of decentralized departments and agencies to discuss possible areas of co-operation towards the accelerated development of the district.

"Apart from the fee defaulters, the school is also confronted with insufficient staff accommodation, inadequate classrooms and the lack of a proper office for our internet caf=E9", Mr. Akrong said.

He explained that some of the school's 76 tutors were housed together in pairs, which did not augur well for effective teaching and monitoring of the students' activities.

The assistant headmaster added that even though the school's academic performance was above average, absenteeism, pilfering, smoking and breaking bounds among the students were still rife, in spite of continued moral education by teachers and social workers.

Mr. Anthony Asamoah-Tortoe, General Manager of Dormaa Vocational Training Centre, in a similar presentation, said the institution suffered an unprecedented low intake over the past two years due to its exclusion from the nation-wide computer placement of Junior Secondary School graduates into second cycle institutions.

He attributed the low enrolment partly to the lukewarm attitude of parents and guardians towards vocational education.

"Since we are not covered by the computer selection, we could admit only 50 students last year and 35 this year, even after hectic public announcements on the radio", the general manager stated.

Mr. Asamoah-Tortoe explained that the policy placed the centre under the National Vocational Training Authority instead of the Ghana Education Service and this has denied it of the basic facilities enjoyed by its peers.

He appealed to the Ministry of Education to consider extending the computer selection exercise to cover vocational training centres to enable them to attain their student quota.