Don't pre-finance schools - GNAT advises heads of institutions, others
The Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) has advised all school heads, teachers and its members in general not to pre-finance the running of schools from their own resources.
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That, it said, was because "doing so would be misinterpreted and rewarded with shame, suspension and interdiction, as has happened to The Headmistress of West Africa Senior High School, Dr Shine Agatha Ofori and her colleagues.
"To the Ghana Education Service (GES), we wish to state categorically that enough is enough! We are fed up, and the earlier GES stopped embarrassing school heads, teachers and all other staff in the sector, the better it would be for all of us.
“The GES must acknowledge its own "blackness" before calling school heads, teachers and the ancillary staff black," GNAT said in a statement signed by its General Secretary, Thomas Musah.
Interdiction
This was in reaction to the interdiction of Dr Agatha Ofori.
A statement dated July 19, 2023, and signed by the Head, Public Relations Unit of the GES, Cassandra Twum Ampofo, said the Management of GES had interdicted Dr Ofori for unauthorised collection of money from students.
She was, therefore, directed to hand over the administration of the school to the Regional Director of Education, pending the final determination of the case by the Regional Disciplinary Committee.
Reaction
However, GNAT said the GES had once again “gone into the overdrive and was at its usual sinister best, seeking to cover its own shortcomings of not addressing the numerous challenges in the system such as the smooth running of the public basic and senior high schools.
"This behaviour is bringing the personalities of school heads and teachers and their skills and competencies into question, disrepute and opprobrium.
"The GES must put its own house in order internally, before going to town every now and then with school heads, who have become pawns in its blame game," it said.
Vogue
The statement said GNAT was amazed that the vogue now was the GES interdicting public school heads of unauthorised collection of money from students, which in many instances turned out to be false, and subjecting them to psychological trauma, moral turpitude and impugning their reputation.
It said further that a few months ago, it was Tema Senior High School; days later, it was Aburi Girls and Achimota, hours later, Tamale Senior High and Fijai and now West Africa Senior High School (WASS).
"GNAT would like to find out from the GES whether pre-financing the running of schools by the heads in terms of capitation grant, administrative cost and meeting other overhead costs from their own resources to be recouped later constitute an infraction.
"Should heads allow their students to go hungry as in the case of Binduri SHS, which resulted in a riot leading to the temporary closure of the school, as carried by the July 21, 2023, Editorial of the Daily Graphic?
Or can as to whethe the parent teacher-association (PTA) and old boys’/girls’ associations can appropriately support the schools using their own resources, both in cash and kind? " it asked.
Heads
They questioned why school heads who were very responsible people, and who taught many of the policy makers, were made to keep quiet over the ineptitude of the said policy makers.
"As citizens, why can't they complain or cry out when things are not going well in their schools?
"The other day, the Head of Fijai SHS was at the receiving end, only for the PTA to come out to absolve him of any wrongdoing or malfeasance; but then the harm had already been done,” the statement said.
It asked how such a person could hold himself/herself in society and before his/her students, family, church, mosque and the larger society henceforth.
