Help us admit more students - CHOPSS cries out to govt
The Conference of Heads of Private Second Cycle Schools (CHOPSS) has called on the government to support private senior high schools to absorb students who do not get access into the public schools.
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Such support, the conference said, would be a better option than the government’s proposal to build 200 new senior high schools (SHS).
The President of the National Conference, Nana Katu Obuedum V, said that would be economically viable to do because some of the private senior high schools had good facilities but empty classrooms.
He made the call at the opening of the ninth National Conference of CHOPSS in Accra last Thursday.
The three-day conference was on the theme: ‘Education for all, a challenge to stakeholders.’
It brought together proprietors and administrative heads of various private SHSs nationwide to take stock of achievements and failures, as well as strategise to achieve the theme of the 2014 conference.
Nana Obuedum further suggested that considering the state of the economy now, only districts without SHSs should be considered.
There are over 400 registered private SHSs nationwide with over 3,200 students.
Challenges
Nana Obuedum noted that despite the contribution of the sector to secondary education since colonial days, the policies of current successive governments were killing the sector.
“The reduction of SHS duration from four to three years, for example, caused a drastic decline in enrolment to the private senior high schools, particularly in the 2013/2014 academic year,” he added.
According to him, the situation had caused some schools to either close down or terminate the appointment of many teachers, increasing the unemployment rate locally.
He, therefore, called for equitable placement of the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) graduates in both the public and private SHSs, in order to revamp the sector .
This, he said, would make the private schools to contribute their quota to the educationa sector and national development.
“In the face of our enormous difficulties and financial challenges, the district assemblies are also frightening the sector with unimaginable property rates, operational levies, signboard levies, among other levies,” he added.
Advice to proprietors
Nana Obuedum advised the members of CHOPSS to employ qualified teachers and also provide environments that are conducive for teaching and learning.
He called on them to desist from examination malpractices and actions that would mar the image of the private schools.
The Director of Education, La Nkwantanang District, Mrs Elizabeth Oduro Mensah, who chaired the opening of the conference, asked CHOPSS to put all their challenges and recommendations into a communiqué and forward it to the Education Ministry for consideration.
“Most of the issues you have raised here have to do with policies and I cannot solve or promise anything at this conference,” she said.
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