Special schools to reopen next week
An agreement has been reached between the Conference of Heads of Special Schools (COHESS) and two state agencies for the release of outstanding grants to ensure the reopening of the special schools next week.
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The two agencies are the Ghana Education Service (GES) and the Controller and Accountant-General’s Department (CAGD).
The agreement was reached after a series of meetings among COHESS, the GES and the CAGD to find solutions to the financial challenges facing the 24 special schools which have prevented them from reopening for the third term of the 2013/2014 academic year.
At an emergency meeting on Friday, May 9, 2014, the members of COHESS decided not to reopen the schools until feeding grants were released.
The schools had originally scheduled the re-opening date for Tuesday, May 13, 2014.
Special education schools are designed to educate children with behavioural, emotional, physical or cognitive needs that cannot be met in general education schools.
Grants
After the meetings, the President of COHESS, Rev Charles Gbekle, told the Daily Graphic, “We are delighted about the commitment and sincerity of the government to release grants for our special schools.”
He said the association was still negotiating with the government to pay other arrears owed the special schools.
Officials are tight-lipped over how much is to be paid by the government for the activities of the special schools.
Rev Gbekle said the central government had been paying the utilities of all special schools until last term when a directive came from the Ministry of Finance asked the schools to pay their own utilities.
Arrears
“How can we reopen when we owe thousands of Ghana cedis to our creditors and suppliers?” he asked.
He said most of the special schools were in darkness for a greater part of last term due to their inability to pay the huge electricity bills.
He said no special school could resume because of the challenges that had bedevilled the institutions and their thousands of students.