Education Ministry presents items to basic schools • Announces new school fees
The Ministry of Education on Tuesday presented large quantities of teaching and learning materials to basic schools in the country.
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The items included 350,000 attendance registers, 230,000 teachers notebooks, 2,400,000 boxes of chalk, 209,415 school uniforms, 40,000 sandals, 14,500 computers and 2,549,647 dictionaries.
The presentation formed part of preparations towards the reopening of government basic schools for the 2016/2017 academic year.
The academic year begins on Tuesday, September 13, 2016.
Directive
The Minister of Education, Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang, who made the presentation at the Education Village to the 10 regional directors of education, charged them to ensure that the items got to all beneficiary schools across the country before schools reopened.
“We implore the support of all regional ministers and all regional directors of education; all MMDCEs and district directors of education; heads of schools, the unions, storekeepers, auditors and, indeed, everyone to support this exercise to the benefit of our own children,” she stated.
Textbooks
She announced that the ministry, working with the Publishers and Printers Association of Ghana, had completed procurement processes for the supply of some textbooks to senior high schools.
On supply of furniture for the 2016/17 academic year, the minister said apart from the 24,000 pieces of basic school furniture that had been distributed to some basic schools in the regions, contract had been awarded for the supply of additional 52,773 pieces of assorted furniture to both basic and SHSs in the country.
Approved fees
Prof. Opoku-Agyemang further announced that the ministry, working in collaboration with the Ghana Education Council and the GES, had come up with standardised approved fees for SHSs for the 2016/2017 academic year.
First year day students are expected to pay GH¢460 while boarders pay an amount of GH¢922.20 for the first term only.
“The first term fees include one-off payments of uniforms, housedresses, PE kits, school cloth, medical exam and school supplies, including notebooks,” she explained.
Policy
She said as part of the progressively free education policy as contained in the Constitution, the government would absorb 12 fee items on the bill to cover examinations, entertainment, national science and maths quiz, science development and utilities. The rest are library, ICT, sports/culture, co-curricular activities and SRC dues.
“As a result, fresh day students will pay GH¢460 in the first term, GH¢20 in the second and third terms. Targeted boarders will be expected to pay GH¢922.20 for the first term and GH¢487.20 for the second and third terms respectively,” she indicated.
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