Address challenges of public schools — Assemblies advised
The outgoing Greater Accra Regional Director of Education, Madam Elizabeth De-suza, has called on the various metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies to play a more active role in addressing the numerous challenges that inhibit the smooth running of public schools within their jurisdictions.
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Such a move, she said, would help prevent the various heads of the schools from charging unapproved fees and levies.
Speaking at a meeting with the chief executives of the various assemblies in the region at the Regional Coordinating Council in Accra, she explained that some of the heads of the schools were hiding behind the lack of funds to support school activities to charge illegal fees.
Madam De-Suza said on many occasions, the release of the capitation grant was delayed, thereby putting pressure on the school heads to settle their debtors.
Challenges
Other challenges confronting the schools have to do with the lack of potable water. Those who are fortunate to have water flowing through their taps also have issues with the payment of bills.
Another challenge has to do with the payment of electricity bills particularly for the newly constructed Millennium Schools.
The lack of furniture for the classrooms, among many others, also dominated discussions at the meeting as they were mentioned as teething challenges that inhibit smooth teaching and learning.
Madam De-suza said the fees of pupils for the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) were heavily subsidised by the government and noted that these had to be paid on time to enable the school heads to settle all the expenses required before the examination period.
Role of assemblies
“These are some of the major challenges and while I acknowledge some of the assemblies for their support, I think that there is still more they can do for the schools to run more effectively and that is why I have enumerated the most pressing ones”, she said.
Some of the heads of schools present also mentioned inadequate classroom desks which compels them (heads) to place more than four pupils, in extreme instances, on one desk.
“Sometimes we are forced to place more than 70 pupils in a classroom which should seat up to 40”, one head of school said.
Others also mentioned the lack of facilities to accommodate teachers posted to their areas and noted that until that issue was resolved, the educational system in the many remote areas would grind to a halt.
Oversight committees
The Deputy Greater Accra Regional Minister, Mr Isaac Vanderpuije, who chaired the meeting, observed that the challenges confronting the various schools within the assemblies had to do with the collapse of the District Education Oversight Committees (DEOC).
“I am very sure that should these committees be working effectively, these challenges will be dealt with”, he said.
Consequently, he directed all the assemblies’ chief executives to ensure that the DEOCs were revived and put to action to help resolve the problems.
