Private school proprietors bear brunt of shutdown
Private school proprietors in the country are bearing the brunt of the shutdown to contain the coronavirus pandemic because of outstanding fees parents owe.
The closure of schools took effect on March 16, 2020, at the beginning of the school term and this has made some parents to renege on their obligation to fully pay the fees.
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The situation has affected the ability of the schools to pay the salaries of their teaching and non-teaching staff although some of the teachers continue to teach and give homework via virtual platforms.
They have, therefore, appealed to the government to consider the plight of private schools and consider them for the GH¢600 million stimulus package for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
A report in the Saturday, May 23, 2020 issue of the Daily Graphic said the Ghana National Council of Private Schools (GNACOPS) has begun vetting and processing the documentation of its members to enable them to apply for the stimulus package.
The Proprietor/Director of Elsie Lund Schools in Tamale, Mr Ofori Amponsah, told the Junior Graphic that he had a total of 40 teachers and non-teaching staff but was not able to pay their salaries for the month of April, reports Samuel Duodu, Tamale.
That, he said, was as a result of the non-payment of school fees arrears owed by parents at the beginning of the term. They (parents) were in the process of paying the fees when schools were closed.
He said what had compounded the situation was that once the children were not in school and were not being taught in the classrooms but on the WhatsApp platform, most parents had decided not to pay the fees they owed.
A junior high school (JHS) and primary school teacher of the school, who only gave his name as Ronald, corroborated the story of the director of the school, saying they were paid half of their salaries in the month of March but had no salary for April.
"We are doing our best and we expect parents to do their part by paying the school fees of their children to get the school running in these difficult times. We know parents are also affected by Covid-19 but they should do their best", he pleaded.
Mr Salam Abdul, a teacher at the Abe Haperim School, another private basic school in Tamale, said they were paid half of their salaries in March but in April they did not receive any salary.
From the Western Region, Dotsey Koblah Aklorbortu reports that some proprietors had taken drastic measures by temporarily laying off staff since pupils and students went home without paying school fees.
The Chairman of the Private Schools Association in the Western Region, Mr Charles Mintaba, said before the closure of schools as directed by the President, schools had done only 14 days into the term and parents were still in the process of paying their children’s school fees.
“The truth is that many of the children went home without paying their school fees, meanwhile we have teachers and other administrative staff to pay, as well as other unavoidable overheads,” he said.
He said some of its members had resolved to pay half of March and April salaries and pay the rest upon resumption of school, while some had paid March salaries in full.
“We have also written to the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) to suspend our members’ contribution for the period and also the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) for tax exemption for the period and not to hold our members for defaulting,” Mr Mintaba said.