Seven SHS heads in Ashanti summoned for charging unapproved fees
Seven heads of senior high schools in the Ashanti Region, have been summoned by the Ghana Education Service (GES) for allegedly charging above the approved admission and school fees for fresh students.
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They are the heads of Opoku Ware, St Louis, Yaa Asantewaa, Aduman and Asanteman senior high schools. The others are the heads of Prempeh College and the Simms Secondary Commercial School.
They are expected to meet the Director General of Education to explain why they charged more than the approved fees of between GH¢600 and GH¢700.
Sanction
According to the Ashanti Regional Director of Education, Mr Sarfo Katanka, apart from the admission and school fees, the heads allegedly requested parents and guardians of fresh students to buy building materials and other items before their children and wards could be admitted.
The GES and the Ministry of Education will sanction the heads for flouting lawful directives.
Mr Sarfo Katanka said the GES had not given approval to heads of senior high schools to ask parents and guardians to pay for building materials and other items before their wards were offered admission.
“It is not the duty of parents to build classroom blocks and dormitories,” he added.
He indicated that the move to sanction heads who flouted directives was to help bring sanity in the educational sector and relieve parents and guardians of paying charges which were not approved by the GES.
According to him, some heads hid under the umbrella of the GES to charge unapproved monies.
Meeting
Mr Katanka said before the start of the 2013/14 academic year, he had a meeting with heads of senior high schools in the region to deliberate on the fees to charge fresh students.
At that meeting, Mr Sarfo Katanka said both the headmasters and the regional directorate of education agreed to collect fees ranging between GH¢600 and GH¢700 and that any anyone who charged more than that was to be sanctioned.
According to the Regional Director of Education, it was also agreed that any other item that would affect the officially approved fees should be optional to the parents.
He listed such items to include school neck ties, cardigans, Friday wear, bedsheets and pairs of trousers, the cost of which increased the fees.
Daily Graphic/Ghana